Seoul, August 6 (Yonhap) -- Preliminary statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Food on the 6th show that agricultural food exports from January to July this year increased by 9.2%, to 5.67 billion US dollars, a record high.

By category, instant noodles grew 34% year on year to $700 million, the highest level in history. The tobacco (regular/e-cigarette) category was $636 million, up 9% year-over-year; The snack category was $424 million, up 14.7%; Beverages were $388 million, up 11.8% year-over-year; Exports of coffee products ($197 million) and ginseng ($179 million) increased by 3.2% and 5%, respectively.

Exports of rice-processed foods such as ready-to-eat rice and frozen laver rice surged 45.7 percent to $165 million as consumer interest in health food and Korean wave increased. South Korea's kimchi rose 3.7 percent to $97 million.

In terms of export destinations, exports to the United States topped the list at $886 million, up 23% year-on-year. It is followed by China and Japan. Exports to Europe were $407 million, up 33.3% year on year, the highest growth among major markets.