The country’s exports of fishery products exceeded three billion dollars for the second consecutive year in 2023, thanks to strong exports of dried seaweed and tuna.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said on Sunday in a press release that outbound shipments of seafood products reached three-point-04 billion dollars last year.

The figure is the second largest after the all-time record of three-point-15 billion dollars logged in 2022.

By item, exports of dried seaweed, called “gim” in Korean, surged 22 percent from a year earlier to a record 790 million dollars in 2023. Tuna exports came to 560 million dollars, while oyster exports totaled 860 million dollars.

The ministry pledged efforts to further increase fishery exports, providing loans worth 51-point-five billion won for seafood exporters this year, up from eight-point-six billion won last year.