The Chinese dehydrated kimchi foreign trade market in 2025 is undergoing a critical stage of transformation from traditional agricultural product exports to high value-added food industry. With technological innovation, policy support, and global layout, the competitiveness of Chinese dehydrated kimchi in the international market continues to strengthen, becoming a new growth pole for agricultural product exports
In Pingdu, Shandong, Lulaixin Company's yellow radish kimchi production line is disrupting traditional processes with the "three-stage fermentation+vacuum freeze-drying" technology. After three rounds of manual screening, high-quality radishes with a diameter of 6 centimeters were cut into strips with a standard thickness of 5 millimeters. They were first pickled and dehydrated to retain their crispness. The gardenia fruit was soaked in amber colored coating and soaked in sweet and sour juice for 72 hours to form a three-dimensional flavor. This technology not only reduces the sodium content (980mg/100g) of the product by 15% below the industry average, but also achieves full traceability from planting to processing through a laser coding traceability system, meeting the strict standards of markets such as the European Union, Japan, and South Korea. In Meishan, Sichuan, the self-control continuous fermentation equipment of "China Pickle City" shortens the fermentation cycle by 80%, reduces salt consumption by 40% -75%, and achieves salt water recycling through MVR evaporation crystallization technology, saving more than 5 million yuan in energy annually. These technological breakthroughs have enabled Chinese dehydrated kimchi to reach international leading levels in crispness, flavor, and safety.
In 2025, Chinese dried kimchi has formed a three-dimensional pattern of "high-end markets in Japan and South Korea, mass markets in Southeast Asia, and health markets in Europe and America". In the Japanese and Korean markets, Chinese products account for 12% of the market share due to their cost-effectiveness advantage. The standardized size of pre cut strips improves the efficiency of sushi restaurant dining by 20%, and the 1100g family outfit design accurately matches local consumption habits. The Southeast Asian market has achieved rapid growth through the RCEP agreement, with Chongqing Fuling pickled mustard exports to ASEAN growing at an average annual rate of 42%, and Chinese restaurant purchases in Malaysia and Thailand increasing by over 25%. In the European and American markets, organic certified products quickly penetrate through cross-border e-commerce channels, and Linquan's freeze-dried okra crisps are used as a substitute for protein bars by North American gyms, with an annual export volume exceeding 500 tons. More noteworthy is the breakthrough in the Middle East market, with high-end restaurants in Saudi Arabia beginning to purchase customized dried kimchi from China for the development of integrated cuisine. In 2024, Yanbian's exports to the Middle East increased by 13.4% year-on-year.
The "the Belt and Road" initiative and the RCEP agreement have become two engines for China's dehydrated pickles to go to sea. Under the RCEP framework, South Korea recognizes China's HACCP certification, and the intelligent management platform of Qingdao Customs has improved the accuracy of tariff reduction for enterprises by 3.8 percentage points. In 2024, the issuance of RCEP certificates of origin to ASEAN and Australia increased by 70.8% year-on-year. In China, Meishan in Sichuan and Pingdu in Shandong have formed industrial clusters integrating planting, processing, research and development, and export. Meishan Pickle City gathers 61 large-scale enterprises, with a total import and export volume of 29.72 million yuan in 2023. Its leading development of the international standard "Specification and Test Methods for Pickles (Salted Fermented Vegetables)" has become a global industry benchmark. This "policy guidance+industrial agglomeration" model has created a strong synergistic effect for Chinese dried kimchi in the international market.
This technology driven industrial transformation not only rewrites the global kimchi trade pattern, but also demonstrates China's determination to transform agriculture from "scale advantage" to "quality advantage". When the radish strips from Pingdu, Shandong and the chili peppers from Meishan, Sichuan reach the dining tables of countries around the world through cold chain logistics, they not only carry Eastern flavors, but also the vibrant vitality of China's agricultural modernization.
Post time: Jun-06-2025