It's quite unusual for an offbeat dish to gain popularity on a national level, let alone become a sought-after treat around the world.

Nonetheless, the pungent-smelling rice noodle dish known as luosifen, which has its roots in the southern Chinese city of Liuzhou, has pleased palates all over the world.

"A total of 43,250 packets of luosifen will be exported in this batch. The products, which are mainly in original, spicy and tomato flavors, will be shipped to the United States via South China's Guangdong province," said Ou Haoxuan, general manager of the overseas business department at Guangxi Luobawang Brand Management Co Ltd., a major luosifen producer.

Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, is a signature street food in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It features rice vermicelli soaked in a spicy broth flavored by river snails and topped with ingredients such as pickled bamboo shoots, string beans, peanuts and fried tofu skin.

Thanks to official marketing and e-commerce, the delicacy has already taken the rest of the country by storm. It has also garnered fans globally, with an increasing number of manufacturers flooding international marketplaces to meet rising demand.

"The focus on exports has become an important direction for the company's business development," Ou said.

As one of the pioneers in luosifen exports, Ou's company saw its exports grow 79.5 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2022, while its exports to ASEAN countries skyrocketed by more than 400 percent compared with the same period in the previous year.

From January to October, Liuzhou exported more than 2,060 metric tons of luosifen, with a total value of 55.78 million yuan ($8 million), up 65.8 percent and 68.4 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to the Customs authorities.

Liuzhou, traditionally an industrial city best known for its steel and automobile manufacturing, has been promoting luosifen to more and more households for years.

The specialty, which was inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list, has become one of the most sought-after dishes after it was featured in a hit documentary named A Bite of China in 2012.

The city started to produce prepackaged luosifen in 2014, which instantly became a hit. In the first 10 months of this year, sales revenue of packaged luosifen hit 15.3 billion yuan, up 21.65 percent compared with the same period last year, data from the Liuzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau showed.

"Luosifen products from Liuzhou were exported to overseas markets for the first time in 2016.As of this October, 40 noodle manufacturing enterprises in the city had obtained the export certification for foods," said Tang Jiwen, head of the Liuzhou Luosifen Association, adding that the prepackaged noodle dish has been exported to more than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Canada, Australia and Malaysia.

The local government said it will ramp up efforts to further standardize luosifen production and help the noodle makers better understand prevailing international trade standards in order to expand exports.