Responding to the news of the birth of an international standard for the kimchi industry, Yonhap News Agency reported on the 29th that South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) said the international standard for China's Sichuan kimchi does not apply to Korean kimchi.

Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Animal Industry and Food said the international standardization does not mean that China's kimchi becomes the international standard for Kimchi (Korean kimchi).

The Kimchi international standard was set in 2001 by the International Food Standards Committee of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The standard set by China concerns Sichuan salted fermented vegetables, and the ISO document also states that the specification does not apply to Korean Kimchi (kimchi).

Extended Information

Korean kimchi hasn't been doing so well over the past few years

October 6, 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, and Food of Korea presented a statistic to the South Korean Parliament that showed that in recent years, South Korea's Kimchi The trade deficit is obvious, with kimchi imports of 174,000 tons in 2014, 215,000 tons in 2016, 239,000 tons in 2018, and rose to 248,000 tons last year.

South Korean media have learned that South Korea's kimchi imports are more than several times its exports, and 99 percent of imported kimchi comes from China.

By the typhoon and the impact of the super-long rainy season, South Korean vegetables in this year also appeared to significantly reduce the situation, the price soared, for which many South Korean housewives have given up the homemade kimchi, but instead to buy processed kimchi, the Chinese kimchi export prices have also risen.

Observer.com - South Korean government: China's Sichuan kimchi international standards do not apply to South Korean kimchi, what do you think?