Instant noodles rank 1st in food output in 2020 amid pandemic

Instant noodles captured the top spot in production among food products in South Korea in 2020 on a surge in exports amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday.

The output of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, stood at 1.93 million tons in 2020, up a whopping 231 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Ramyeon's ranking in terms of production was up 12 notches from the previous year.

Strong exports were cited as the main reason for the spike in production of instant noodles.

Overseas shipments of instant noodles shot up nearly 50 percent on-year to $687.1 million in 2020, while domestic sales sank about 20 percent to 1.56 trillion won ($1.31 billion).

Instant noodles thus placed first in terms of the export value among local food products, up from second place a year earlier.

Industry watchers said South Korean instant noodles became more popular abroad as the COVID-19 outbreak forced more people to stay home.

Also responsible were strong overseas shipments of "chapaguri," a signature noodle dish from the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," according to the sources.

Carbonated drinks ranked second in terms of output with 1.87 million tons in 2020, according to the data, followed by flour with 1.82 million tons, beer with 1.5 million tons and sugar with 1.43 million tons. (Yonhap)