Executive Vice President Baek Jin-seok for Food Industry & Export Promotion at the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT).

"AT is concentrating on a two-prolonged strategy, developing new export items and exploring new markets, to ensure sustainable growth of the Korean food and agriculture industry,” said Executive Vice President Baek Jin-seok of the Food Industry and Export Promotion at the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT). 

Executive Vice President Baek made the remarks in an interview with NewsWorld at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, the venue of the Buy Korean Food & Agriculture 2017 (BKF 2017), which opened a two-day run on June 13. Last year, aT launched the MIRACLE K-Food program to explore promising export items in overseas markets, Executive Vice President Baek said. 

“Under the program, 17 items that cannot be found in foreign countries other than Korea have been designated, and they will emerge as future mainstay export items in five to 10 years,” he said. The program has begun to yield tangible outcomes. 

For instance, Dangjo Pepper, a functional pepper that contains the Alpha-Gllucosidase Inhibitor (AGI), an ingredient to lower a blood sugar concentration, debuted in the Japanese market in May through 110 outlets of Uni Group. It has potential to expand its presence, he said.  

“Korean-grown strawberries have recently emerged as the No. 1 market leader in the Southeast Asian market, outdoing the global leader United States, to join Korean-produced mainstay fresh fruits and vegetables,” he said. For instance, Korea exported paprika worth $93 million to Japan. 

A homegrown strawberry variety that grows between December and April has become a hit product in Southeast Asian markets, including Singapore and Hong Kong. The variety, dubbed “Maehyang,” was developed in Korea in 2007.

Korean agricultural produce’s safety and quality management, reinforced are helping raise their standing in Southeast Asian markets, Baek said. He said Korea has seen lower tariffs thanks to the effectuation of FTAs with 105 countries, which has contributed to expanding the nation’s economic and business territory, but higher non-tariff barriers still exist, especially in customs clearance and quarantine, which are getting worse due to more stringent regulations. 

The Korean food and agriculture export industry has a tendency to be concentrated on three major markets the United States, Japan and China. The industry has suffered a setback due to a sharp drop in demand for Korean produce, caused by China’s retaliatory steps over the installation of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea.  A few years ago, he said, Korea also saw food and agriculture exports to Japan take a toll over Korean agricultural produce imports due to anti-Korean sentiment in Japan. 

In an effort to decentralize exports away from the three major markets, Baek said, that aT is turning its attention to the expansion of Southeast Asian markets and exploring new strategic markets, including those in Central and South America, Africa and India. To this end, Baek said the corporation has inaugurated a taskforce to diversify markets. Pilot employees have been dispatched to help establish a foothold in five strategic regions, and market exploration delegations comprising of Korean exporters will be sent abroad during the period between March and October. Korea exported food and agricultural produce worth $8.6 billion last year.

A view of the Buy Korean Food & Agriculture 2017 (BKF 2017), which took place at the aT Center in Seoul from June 13 to June 14. (Photos: NewsWorld)

BKF, an Opportunity to Boost Korean Food & Agriculture Exports

The BKF 2017 that took place at the aT Center from June 13 to 14 attracted 110 foreign buyers from 90 companies 56 firms in the Korean food and agriculture and 34 others from other related industries. A total of 253 Korean exporters also participated in the annual trade fair. Participating foreign companies included 10 firms from Japan, 22 from the Chinese sphere, 40 from Southeast Asia, 10 from North America, four from the EU, and four from the Middle East.

Business to business negations took place among 110 foreign buyers and 253 Korean exporters. In an effort to raise awareness of the Korean food and agriculture industry and help Korean exporters land deals with foreign buyers, foreign buyers were given an opportunity to have a first-hand look or experiences at distribution outlets like the E-Mart while the KAMICO and other related bodies invited their plants and other facilities to look at products and services.

aT Executive Vice President Baek said, unlike previous exhibitions, the BKF 2017 also allowed 34 agro-related organizations, including the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative (KAMICO) and the Korea Rice Foodstuffs Association, some of which have no overseas branches, to invite their respective buyers to promote synergetic effects of the trade fair. The expanded rendition of the trade fair will take place on a regular basis, while another event to invite foreign food & agriculture buyers will be slated for the second half of each year he said. The trade fair also coincided with such side events as a seminar on Chinese and U.S. food safety regulations, customs clearance and labeling, and a symposium on overseas food market trends. 

Attracting great attention from participants and spectators were a booth on consulting services for localizing agricultural produce, a pavilion to promote the MIRACLE K-Food Project, and a PR booth on K-Food mobile app. The MIRACLE K-Food booth featured 10 new emerging export items, including Dangjo Pepper: Shine Musket, the “King of Green Grape”; Energy Gel, an energy supplementary food; Ginseng Chips; Sweet Potato Jelly; and Green Tangerine Juice. 

President Kim Kyung-sul of the Dream of Farmer said Dangjo Pepper is likely to gain popularity after it made its debut as a functional food with the passing of its clinical test in Japan. CEO Jung Seung-geol of KS Global Trading in Australia, said he was thrilled to see a throng of people, particularly Southeast Asians, converge on a K-Pop concert that took place in Australia a few years ago, sensing the hallyu on the rage. 

Kevin Lee, an official with MGH, a Korean supermarket and distributor in Indonesia, said his company does business in Korean-produced instant noodles, snacks and other foods. The Buy Korean Food & Agriculture 2017 (BKF 2017), which took place at the second exhibition hall of the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul from June 13 to 14, attracted 90 companies from 22 countries, including foreign buyers. Business-to-business negations took place among 110 foreign buyers and 253 Korean exporters. Foreign buyers were given an opportunity to have a first-hand look or experiences at distribution outlets like the E-Mart while the KAMICO and other related bodies invited visitors to their plants and other facilities to look at products and services.