Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung, left, speaks during a press conference at the ministry's office in Sejong, Monday. Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung said Monday that the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump would not significantly pressure Korea by raising tariffs on its exports of food and related products, actions that could raise retail prices of popular Korean food items in the U.S. market.

Outbound shipments from the so-called "K-Food Plus" initiative encompass a diverse range of products, from fresh and processed food to agricultural equipment and solutions.

The minister's assurance was based on strong exports of Korean food products like instant noodles, kimchi and desserts to the United States throughout last year. Given the robust performance in one of Korea's largest food export markets in the world, the ministry raised its export goal for this year by $1 billion from the previous year.

Korea's food industry remained relatively intact during the first Trump administration from 2017 to 2020 compared to other domestic industries, according to the minister. This is one of the factors contributing to the minister's positive outlook on Korean food companies with the U.S. as a major export market.

"The agricultural and food industries in Korea managed to withstand the first Trump administration's policies that impacted the country. Of course, uncertainties remain regarding the second Trump administration. To address this, we have launched task forces dedicated to different food categories to take preemptive measures," Song said during a press conference in Sejong.

"Current food prices in the U.S. are very high. If the Trump administration (will) protect U.S. products by imposing excessive tariffs on Korean imports, their retail prices would soar in the U.S. market. However, as Korean food products are now popular, especially among young American consumers, I believe U.S. authorities would not deliberately raise market prices on those products."

At the center of Korean food product exports to the U.S. are instant noodles like Samyang Foods, Nongshim and Ottogi. However, the trend has expanded to include other popular Korean food in the U.S. market, such as kimchi, desserts and rice-based processed food, according to Song.

"We saw last year that once a certain category of food started gaining traction for export, products in other categories also benefited from that momentum, like a chain reaction," she added.

Based on the 2024 export figures, the ministry has increased its export goal for this year to $14.5 billion from last year's $13.5 billion.

The K-Food Plus' goal for 2024 fell short by the end of the year. Food exports totaled $9.98 billion, shy of the $10 billion target, while exports of nonfood items, such as agricultural machinery and smart farms, also missed their collective goal of $3.5 billion.

However, Song remains positive about accomplishing this year's goal.

"This year's food export goal alone has increased to $11 billion. I have seen how various Korean food gained traction in exports last year and I am sure this year will see further growth," Song said.

"So far, our key export markets have been major cities in the U.S., China and Japan. This year, we will try to expand our exports to smaller cities in those countries as well as those in the Central and South American countries."