South Korea's exports of grapes shot up 35 percent on-year in 2020 to set a new record high, data showed Thursday, on the back of the growing popularity of local agricultural products overseas.

Outbound shipments of grapes came to $30.7 million in 2020, compared with $22.8 million posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Over the first four months of 2021, exports of grapes came to $7.2 million, also up nearly 50 percent from the previous year.

The sharp rise is attributable to a new technology that allows farms to preserve fresh Shine Muscat grapes for up to five months, compared with the previous limit of around three months. The type accounts for around 89 percent of grape exports.

The size of local Shine Muscat farms came to 3,579 hectares as of this year, nearly doubling from 1,867 hectares posted in 2019.

Outbound shipments of agricultural and livestock products, meanwhile, advanced 7.7 percent on-year in 2020 on the back of growing demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (Yonhap)