OSAKA, Japan — Udon noodle exports in 2007 were more than double that of 10 years ago, apparently because of a growing fondness overseas for Japanese food and the growing ranks of Japanese baseball players plying their trade overseas.

Increased consumption of Japanese foods in the United States and in other Asian nations seems to have boosted the popularity of the easy-to-cook noodles.

According to Osaka Customs, 12,500 tons of udon, somen and soba noodles were exported from Japan in 2007, up 24.8 percent from the previous year.

Most were udon noodles, of which about 40 percent were shipped from Osaka, Kobe and other ports in the Kansai region near Kagawa Prefecture, the top-ranked prefecture in udon manufacturing.

The United States — the largest importer of the noodles — accounted for about 40 percent of the increase. Since more people are consuming a wider variety of Japanese foods because of the growing popularity of the cuisine, quick-and-easy-to-prepare frozen udon noodles have reportedly become a popular lunch item.

A spokesman of Katokichi Co., a major frozen udon noodle manufacturer, said the success of Japanese baseball players in the Major Leagues in recent years has sparked American interest in Japanese food. Udon is reportedly considered a healthy food along with sushi.

Exports of udon increased about fivefold to Hong Kong and 1 1/2 times in Taiwan in two years. The noodles are sold at supermarkets and other shops and widely used as an ingredient in Chinese dishes.

A spokesman for Takamatsu-based Ishimaru Foods and Noodles Corp. said udon noodles made in Japan are more popular than noodles produced locally in other nations.

"People say noodles made in Japan and at our factory are delicious," the spokesman said.

The Kagawa prefectural government has focused on the popularity of Sanuki udon — chewy noodles produced in the prefecture — overseas and held fairs to demonstrate how to cook them at department stores in Malaysia and Taiwan in 2007.

This year, the government plans to exhibit the noodle at a food fair in Europe.

"We want to promote the Sanuki udon brand name," a government spokesman said.

Many udon makers are looking to overseas markets to compensate for sluggish domestic consumption of the noodles and to alleviate the financial squeeze they are facing because of rising cost of materials.