Instant noodles was the "K-food" item that posted the highest export volume during the first six months of this year, with shipments expanding by more than 30 percent from a year earlier.

According to the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday, exports of instant noodles jumped 32-point-three percent on-year to 590 million U.S. dollars between January and June.

The cumulative export value as of late June reached 100 million dollars in both China and the U.S., the two largest overseas markets for Korean instant noodles, due largely to sales at online channels and grocery chains.

Exports of agrifoods, including instant noodles, during the six-month period totaled four-point-77 million dollars, up six-point-seven percent on-year.

While snacks, beverages, ginseng, processed rice products, and kimchi also led the export gains, processed rice products, including frozen gimbap, fried rice, ddeokbokki and makgeolli, saw the biggest on-year jump of 41-point-four percent.