South Korea's exports of farm and fisheries products grew 14.6 percent in the first half of this year on solid demand for Korean food, data showed Tuesday.

Outbound shipments of agricultural and fisheries goods came to $6.21 billion in the January-June period, up from $5.42 billion from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The figure represents the largest-ever tally for the first half of any year.

Of the amount, sales of agricultural products came to $4.5 billion, up 7.9 percent on-year, and those of fisheries goods surged 37.2 percent to $1.71 billion, the data showed.

The stellar performance was led by the growing popularity of instant noodles, dried seaweed and processed rice products.

Exports of noodles advanced 20 percent to $383.7 million on the growing demand for ready-to-eat products, and sales of dried seaweed, called "gim" in Korean, increased 13.8 percent to $375.9 million. Gim is usually roasted with sesame oil and fine salt, and served as a side dish in Korean dining.

Overseas demand for snacks rose 11.5 percent to $314.6 million and that of processed rice products went up 13.3 percent to $90.4 million, the data showed.

Exports to China rose 21.1 percent on-year to $1.03 billion, and those to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) climbed 13.7 percent to $1.23 billion.

Sales in Japan grew 9 percent to $1.06 billion.

Shipments to the United States and the European Union also increased 11.4 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively, on-year, in the first half of this year.

"We will strive to enhance quality and safety of farm and fisheries products and to expand flights and ships for their timely transportation," the ministry said in a release. "We will also enhance tailored marketing strategies to support exports." (Yonhap)