China imports $100m worth of South Korean instant noodles

China’s imports of South Korean instant noodles jumped fivefold last year compared to 2014, industry data showed Sunday.

According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), China imported $100 million (118 billion won) worth of Korean instant noodles last year, up from $15.1 million in 2014. 

Among all instant noodles imported by China, 50 percent came from Korea -- 40.2 billion packs -- in the January-September period, followed by Taiwan.

About 280 million packs of instant noodles are consumed daily on average in China, about three times higher than in Indonesia of around 90 million packs, according to KOTRA.

KOTRA said the market has expanded significantly due to the increased number of single-person households in China, demand for diversified, premium instant noodles and the activities of social media influencers.

Korean food manufacturer Samyang Foods’ spicy chicken noodles ranked among the top 10 products on e-commerce platform Taobao after being frequently featured on social media in China. Approximately 1.8 million packs of spicy chicken noodles are sold in China monthly, according to the company.

(ddd@heraldcorp.com)