Most notably, octopus made up the country's major export product to the market in the reviewed period, accounting for 71.9%, while squid exports made up only 28.1%.

The second quarter of the year witnessed squid and octopus exports to the RoK also edge up by 13% to US$58 million against the same period from last year.

Key items to the demanding market included dried, salted, fresh, and frozen octopus products, accounting for 68% of the total export value. This product group enjoyed an increase of 18%, while the processed octopus group witnessed a fall of 15%.

According to data released by the International Trade Center (ITC), the RoK's squid and octopus imports from other countries in the first half of the year endured a fall of 3% to US$494 million.

Vietnam ranked second in terms of supplying squid and octopus to the RoK after China, with the Vietnamese and Chinese market shares making up 46% and 24% of the total import value of squid and octopus, respectively.

Currently, the RoK’s demand for processed foods has been increasing rapidly, thereby representing a positive sign for Vietnamese squid and octopus exports to this market this year.

According to insiders, Vietnamese squid and octopus exports to the RoK market will continue to see positive growth moving forward as the ban placed on Japanese seafood imports into China has not yet been lifted as a result of Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge.