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Ramyeon makers rejoice as Indonesia relaxes export regulations

Published: 03 Dec. 2024, 18:22 Updated: 03 Dec. 2024, 18:55

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Nongshim opens a pop-up event for its flagship instant noodle brand, Shin Raymun, in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Nov. 15. [NONGSHIM]

Korean ramyeon manufacturers are celebrating the news that Indonesia, the world’s second-largest consumer of instant noodles, had relaxed inspection regulations for Korean exports, having seen sufficient evidence that the foods are safe.

The Korea Food Industry Association (KFIA) said Tuesday that Indonesia would stop requiring manufacturers to inspect their products for ethylene oxide (ETO), which the World Health Organization has labeled a carcinogen, in Korean ramyeon, or instant noodles, starting Sunday.

The Southeast Asian country had required firms to submit food inspection reports for Korean ramyeon after 2-Chloroethanol (2-CE), a by-product of ETO, was first found in Korean exports in 2021. Since October 2022, companies have had to submit documentation proving their products' concentrations of ETO and 2-CE were below the permitted maximum when shipping those products to Indonesia.

The KFIA convinced Indonesian customs to remove the requirement by demonstrating that it was strictly monitoring ramyeon products. The European Union's decision to relax its own ETO regulations in July bolstered those efforts, the agency said.

Ramyeon, or instant noodle, products are displayed at a supermarket in Seoul on Nov. 15. [YONHAP]

The news was welcome to major ramyeon producers Samyang Foods and Nongshim, which have been expanding sales through their halal products in Muslim-majority countries like Indonesia. The island country is the world’s second-largest market for instant noodles — having consumed 14.54 billion servings of the dish in 2023 — according to the World Instant Noodles Association.

Samyang Foods and Nongshim have been pushing into the Indonesian market with distinct regional flavors, halal certification and pop-up events centered on their respective best-selling products, Buldak Ramen and Shin Ramyun.

A spokesperson for Samyang Foods said Indonesia accounted for 25 percent of its Southeast Asian sales, while Nongshim said it had sold $25 million worth of its 18 ramyeon products in the country between 2020 and 2023.

Samyang Foods said the time and money it would now save on testing would make it more cost-competitive.

“We plan to accelerate sales in the Indonesian market through new products like Toomba and Tom Yum-flavored Shin Ramyun next year, especially as the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is reducing nontariff barriers,” Nongshim said in a news release.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]