File photograph of dried seaweed. PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD
SEOUL – Dried seaweed or gim, a staple dish nicknamed “rice thief” for its good pairing with rice, is seeing appreciable recognition globally today.
Lately, gim’s deliciousness, coupled with its nutrient content material and recognition as a meals supply helpful to ocean ecosystems, has captivated style buds worldwide, making its method into an sudden array of dishes, served in salads, broths, casseroles, pizza and even often sprinkled on ice cream.
But, regardless of the gim business seeing a heyday right here, bizarre individuals in Korea concern that the nation’s humble, but at all times satisfying trio on a desk — a bowl of white rice, kimchi, and seasoned dried seaweed — could in the future not be thought-about a modest meal.
In Could, the common retail worth of gim, in its most simple kind roasted with no seasoning, is up over 80 % from a 12 months in the past.
Ok-gim wave
Yoo Min-hyun, a graduate scholar in his 20s from Illinois, can attest to a notable improve in individuals’s curiosity in gim within the US, in comparison with when he first got here to the states years in the past.
“I’ve seen many Korean seaweed merchandise, particularly packaged dried seaweed, being bought at native grocery store chains, not simply at Asian markets,” he stated. “Increasingly more of my mates, each American and Asian, are incorporating gim into their eating setups, notably with Asian delicacies.”
Final 12 months, the US witnessed Dealer Joe’s novel frozen gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) promote out after going viral on TikTok and Instagram. The product particularly attracted shoppers preferring cheap vegan choices with out meat fillings.
On high of this, there was a rising international curiosity in seaweed as a nutritious meals supply that advantages ocean ecosystems, positioning it as greater than only a fashionable Korean meals.
In accordance with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, a world conservation group, its cultivation requires no fertilizer, pesticides, recent water, or land whereas yielding constructive impacts on “ocean well being, local weather mitigation, and meals safety.”
All this interprets right into a growth for Korean producers of gim merchandise.
Increase for Korean gim producers
South Korea instructions over 70 % of the worldwide dried seaweed market, valued at $918 million as of 2022, as per Yonhap Information Company.
In accordance with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea’s exports of gim, seasoned, and dried seaweed mixed, surged previous 1 trillion received ($790 million) in complete worth for the primary time in 2023, with the biggest shipments going to the US, Japan, China, Thailand and Russia in that order.
And gim’s robust upward momentum is constant this 12 months, with export figures from the primary two months of this 12 months displaying a 28.1 % improve in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months.
As of Could, the top-selling seaweed snacks on US e-commerce large Amazon are Korean-style roasted seaweed merchandise from the US-based model Gimme.
Merchandise from Korean producers equivalent to CJ Cheiljedang, Samjin Globalnet and Daechungim additionally made the bestseller listing, supplied in a big selection of flavors past the staple sea-salt, together with kimchi, bulgogi, teriyaki and inexperienced tea.
‘Like gold’
The skyrocketing costs of gim reached a degree the place South Koreans at the moment are drawing comparisons to the ever-increasing worth of gold.
Kim Jin-ae, a 40-something Seoul resident, expressed concern over the rising costs of gim at a neighborhood grocery store. “It appears like its worth continues to rise actually every day,” she stated. “I’m desirous about stockpiling gim merchandise earlier than it’s too late, similar to individuals are investing in gold bars today.”
READ: South Korea’s meals inflation surged to six.95% in February
Since final 12 months, gim is seeing a pointy uptick in retail costs ensuing from heightened international demand, diminished native inventory ranges, and continued shortfalls in seaweed output from neighboring seaweed harvesters Japan and China as a result of ocean warming and marine desertification.
A 100-sheet bundle of dried, unseasoned gim, broadly used as a benchmark for retail gim costs, now averages 10,089 received ($7.43), based on a Could report by the Korea Maritime Institute, marking an on-year improve of over 80 %. Surpassing the ten,000 received mark for the primary time in April, its wholesale worth is projected to rise to 10,875 received.
The hovering worth of gim is very regarding for Koreans, given its various usages in Korean delicacies.
Its inevitable utilization in gimbap, as an example, has contributed to the worth improve of gimbap, the No. 1 meal-on-the-go for individuals in Korea, rising by 7.7 % to three,323 received, a 15.6 % improve in comparison with two years in the past, as per the Korea Shopper Company in Could.
Tariffs on seaweeds lifted
Earlier this month, the Korean authorities lifted tariffs on imports of each dried and seasoned seaweed to stabilize native gim costs, efficient till Sept. 30, after which the seaweed harvesting season begins.
Native business insiders say that regardless of holding the dominant place within the international dried seaweed market, Korea faces some grave challenges, such because the persevering with rise in water temperatures necessitating the necessity to develop high-temperature-resistant varieties, in addition to the ageing of seaweed farmers.
In accordance with information from the Nationwide Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives in 2022, these aged over 70 represent greater than 40 % of the inhabitants of fishing villages nationwide.
In an effort to boost productiveness, officers from the Nationwide Institute of Fisheries Science stated analysis is underway for algae variants that may develop in seasons after they usually don’t, equivalent to in June.
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Taking it a step additional, on Could 14, Korean meals large Pulmuone launched a noodle dish at its corporate-run restaurant in Seoul, utilizing seaweed harvested with algae bioreactor techniques for the primary time. This land-based farming expertise allows the cultivation of seaweed all through all seasons in a managed sea-like setting.
