By Kang Gahui and Sohn JiAe

Korea and nine Southeast Asian countries have discussed ways to expand trade in agricultural items and food staples.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs invited ambassadors to Korea from Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia to its offices in Seoul on March 31 to touch upon the current status of trade in agricultural and food products among the countries. They talked about ways to further expand mutual cooperation across the sector.

“Southeast Asia is among the most beloved tourist sites for the Korean people. There’s a growing number of tourists to Korea, too, traveling from the Philippines and Thailand,” said Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Jae-soo. “Amid these growing tourist activities, we hope to see more exchanges in the agricultural and food industries, as well,” the minister said.

Finally, the minister noted the possibility to increase trade in halal food, in particular, targeting the many Muslim consumers in Indonesia, Malaysia and elsewhere. He asked for each government to support the acceleration of Korean exports of dairy and livestock products, and fruit.

kgh89@korea.kr