ASEAN F&B industry eyes sustainable market in Korea

ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Hae-yong delivers opening remarks during a seminar on ASEAN-Korea F&B trade facilitation at a hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Southeast Asia is known for a variety of food products, such as coffee, tropical fruits, and coconut oil among others. The ASEAN-Korean Centre (AKC) hosted a seminar, Tuesday, to promote sustainable market expansion in the food and beverage (F&B) sector in Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Co-organized with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the seminar centered on trends in the F&B sector. The F&B industry employs 116 million people in ASEAN, which is more than one third of its total workforce, and accounts for roughly 10 percent of total trade in the region.

Korea is an important market for ASEAN F&B producers and the seminar also introduced the prospect of imported food in Korea as well as the best way to maximize the benefits of FTAs, such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and ASEAN-Korea FTA.

"With highly sophisticated customers and 18 sets of FTAs with 58 countries, the Korean F&B market creates keen competition among exporting countries. Therefore exporters need to develop new and sustainable F&B products to satisfy the level of expectations and the growing demand for diversity," AKC Secretary General Kim Hae-yong said during the opening remarks of the seminar.

"We noticed Korean consumers' growing interest in ASEAN F&B products including vegan meat and eco-friendly goods in particular... Today's seminar was organized to strengthen the capabilities of ASEAN SMEs (small- and medium-enterprises) in the F&B Industry in response to the increasing interest in sustainable, eco-friendly and ethical food consumption," Kim added.

Participants of the seminar on ASEAN-Korea F&B trade facilitation, co-hosted by the ASEAN-Korea Centre and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, pose for a photo at a hotel in Seoul, Tuesday. Fourth from left is Pg Hjh Nooriyah PLW Pg Hj Yussof, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam in Korea; fourth from right is Kim Hae-yong, Secretary General of ASEAN-Korea Centre; and third from right is Lyu Jae-won, Executive Vice President for Trade-Investment Data at KOTRA. Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre

Pg Hjh Nooriyah PLW Pg Hj Yussof, ambassador of Brunei Darussalam and chair of the ASEAN Committee in Seoul, noted that the seminar offers tremendous help to ASEAN micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to limited resources to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

"MSMEs are the backbone of ASEAN economic activity contributing a significant share of total employment and total establishment in the region. MSMEs, therefore, are poised to play a crucial role in achieving the ASEAN goal of sustainable economic growth and recovery," Nooriyah said.

"I'm confident that (this seminar) will strengthen the capabilities of ASEAN MSMEs and enhance their market access and internalization towards the realization of the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development by 2025."

Song Mi-jeong, director of the New Marketing Channel Department at the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, talked about the latest trends in the F&B industry, including disruptions in food supply chains due to the pandemic and Korea-ASEAN partnership.

Choi Dae-kyoo, a customs consultant at SHINHAN Customs Service, provided insight on trade pacts including RCEP and AKFTA.

After speaking about the food import system and food safety issues in Korea, Nguyen Diep Phap, International Sales Manager of G.C. Food Joint Stock Company in Vietnam, gave a case study of an ASEAN company in the global and Korean markets, while Hahm Sung-ho of Dain Trading provided an example of importing ASEAN F&B products to Korea.

The seminar is part of AKC's efforts to facilitate trade and support the market expansion of ASEAN companies in Korea and build a more reciprocal economic partnership between the two regions.

Earlier this month, AKC took part in the ASEAN Trade Fair from June 7 to 10 to showcase F&B products from ASEAN member states and encourage ASEAN companies to establish business opportunities in Korea. Delegations from 45 companies in 10 ASEAN countries and representatives from related government agencies participated in the event.

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