S. Korea's chicken exports up 59.5% on-year in 2020

South Korea exported $21 million worth of chicken last year, up 59.5 percent from a year earlier, due to the growing demand for ready-to-eat products and the Korean pop culture's popularity.

According to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the increase was a result of the popularity of packaged traditional chicken soup, or "samgyetang," and chicken breast spiked due to demand for home meal replacements and the overseas popularity of Korean music, and movies.

South Korea exported the highest volume of chicken last year to the US, reaching $5.9 million, or 28.1 percent of the total.

The country's processed chicken accounted for 2.1 percent of US chicken imports last year, up from 0.9 percent in 2016.

Hong Kong was second with $4.96 million worth, representing a 162.4 percent increase from 2019.

An artificial intelligence analysis identified Hong Kong as the overseas market with the greatest potential, followed by Japan and the US.