▲ Seaweed Harvesting

Having captivated palates across the globe, 'Chungnam Seaweed' has driven the province's seafood exports past the $200 million mark for three consecutive years.

The provincial government announced on the 21st that seafood exports in 2025 reached $231 million (approximately 340 billion won), a 7.4% increase from the previous year's $215 million, setting a new all-time high.

The province's seafood exports have surpassed the $200 million threshold for three consecutive years, recording $202 million in 2023, $215 million in 2024, and $231 million in 2025.

This ranks sixth nationally, trailing behind Busan ($996 million), South Jeolla ($549 million), Seoul ($535 million), South Gyeongsang ($265 million), and Gyeonggi ($243 million).

By product category, seaweed exports rose 10.2% year-on-year to reach $215 million, accounting for a staggering 93% of Chungnam's total seafood exports. Specifically, this breaks down to $97 million in dried seaweed and $118 million in seasoned seaweed.

Seaweed exports have shown a steep upward trajectory, growing 42% from $151 million in 2022 to $215 million in 2025. Dried seaweed, in particular, saw explosive growth of 76%, jumping from $55 million in 2022 to $97 million in 2025.

Other seafood exports included wakame (sea mustard) at $1.1 million, other canned seafood at $800,000, dried seafood at $600,000, other types of marine algae at $500,000, other crustaceans at $250,000, and shrimp at $220,000.

Looking at the export breakdown by country, China accounted for the largest share at $52 million, followed closely by the United States at $49 million. Other notable markets included Russia ($19 million), Japan ($13 million), Australia, Canada, and Vietnam ($8 million each), Thailand and Indonesia ($7 million each), and Germany ($4 million), with other countries making up the remaining $56 million.

Moving forward, the province plans to continue its support for major export markets like the United States, China, Russia, and Japan, while simultaneously diversifying its export destinations to include Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions showing recent export growth.

Despite domestic and international challenges last year, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the imposition of U.S. reciprocal tariffs, we successfully hit the $200 million mark, driven by surging global demand for our flagship seasoned and dried seaweed products," said Jeong Byeong-woo, Director of the Fishing Village Industry Division. He added, "Since the superior quality and competitiveness of Chungnam seaweed are widely recognized on the global stage, we will dedicate even greater efforts to diversifying our products and breaking into new markets to secure sustainable growth.

Department: Seaweed Industry Team, Fishing Village Industry Division

Phone: 041-635-4844