The first ever shipment of Korean sweet potatoes to Singapore has landed, reportedly leveraging the success of the country’s strawberries in the Singaporean market.

Korea’s Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp said 17.5 tonnes of sweet potatoes were shipped to Singapore by a local cooperative, following two orders received last month, reported Yonhap News.

The state-run cooperative behind the sweet potato shipment said it also hopes to clinch deals for Korean pumpkins, carrots, radishes and cabbages.

The US$40,000 shipment is part of Korean produce’s increasing popularity in Singapore, led by strawberries introduced in 2002 and worth US$7m in 2009.

Singapore takes 37 per cent of Korea’s US$19m strawberry exports.