South Korea’s exports of agricultural and food products rose from a year earlier last month on a large increase in shipments to the United States and Southeast Asian nations, the government said Sunday.

Shipments of farm goods amounted to $556.6 million in April, up 13.8 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Exports to Japan, the world’s single-largest importer of Korean farm products, gained 3.4 percent on-year to reach $110.5 million.

Shipments to the U.S. spiked 22.7 percent on-year to $57 million, with those to the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also jumping 26.2 percent to $107.9 million.

Exports to China, the second-largest importer of Korean goods, slipped 0.1 percent to $88 million. “Overall exports to ASEAN countries rose greatly from the same month last year on growing shipments of processed goods, including tobacco and biscuits, and on increased exports of poultry products to Vietnam,” the ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap)