Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT) President Kim Jae-soo 

look at Korean foods on display at an event while making a business tour  in Paris.

Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT) ramps up support to its 11 overseas aT centers in seven countries, which serve as a springboard to explore foreign agro-fisheries & food markets in order to boost Korean exports and farmers’ incomes.

Shanghai aT Center in China has contacted big buyers and helped Korean canned tuna exporters to sign MOUs with them under which the Korean companies have developed canned tuna products tailored to meet Chinese tastes like Sichuan and Gwangdong-style ones to make a foray into the Chinese canned tuna market, which is dominated by Thai companies. These efforts have paid off: The newly developed Korean tuna products have hit the shelves at 10,000 large-sized grocery outlets, and exports are forecast to grow to $500 million by 2018.

This case is one of the success stories that overseas aT centers have achieved, which were contained at a collection of their successful practices released recently.

Hong Kong aT Center has come up with the bodul (soft) cheese ramyeon (instant noodles), a departure from the conventionally spicy ramyeon flavor, which has successfully made its debut at big grocery outlets such as ParknShop, Welcome, and 759stores. Korea has seen its exports to Hong Kong, which stood at $730,000 in 2011, jump some 10 times to $7.3 million in 2013. 

Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. President Kim Jae-soo and other aT 

officials pose for pictures at a ceremony to open an aT office in Paris on Dec. 10. 2013.

Tokyo aT Center has established a standard model for exploring a regional market in northeast Japan. Despite Korean exporters’ sluggish performance, influenced by the soured relations between Korea and Japan, the center has given a hand in exporting 35 million yen worth of some 40 Korean products, including kimchi and naengmyeon, through a fair it jointly hosted with Yokyubenimaru, the grocery chain in northeast Japan. Thanks to the center’s helping hand, 22 Korean-made items from nine Korean companies, including Nonghyup’s samgaetang (ginseng chicken soup) have successfully made their debut at Japanese grocery outlets. 

Halal certification has allowed Korean products to enter the emerging Malaysian market. Thailand aT Center has hosted a fair in Thailand to expand a clientele base for Korean products, including strawberries and kimchi. aT has signed an MOU with Lucky Mart, the biggest grocery chain in Cambodia, serving as an opportunity to expand its presence there. 

Thanks to Paris aT Center’s aggressive efforts, Korean companies have supplied Korean food ingredients to Sodexo, a multinational food company, paving the way for Korean exporters’ entry into the European market, which is unfamiliar to Korean foods. Korea produce, including noodles, refrigerated mandoo, laver, and hapban (instant boiled rice) have hit the shelves of Auchan, France’s representative grocery chain. 

Park Jong-suh, executive director in charge of exporting, said, “We at aT will strive to explore new markets to boost agro-fisheries & food exports, and we want to share information on success stories with exporters to make forays into new markets.”