S. Korea Expands Exports of Agri-food Products and Fights Counterfeit Food Products 

Sejong, 21 October 2024 — On 25 September, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) held a meeting with exporting companies and export-related public agencies to discuss ways to expand exports of K-Food Plus^*. At the meeting, both sides shared the export volumes recorded from January through September this year and discussed an export plan. 

* K-Food Plus (K-Food+) is a term referring to agri-food products, combined with the products from related forward- and backward-linked industries (e.g. smart farms, agricultural equipment, pet food, veterinary medicine, etc.). Agri-food products means processed and non-processed food products, excluding aquatic food products. Through exports of K-Food Plus, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs aims to nurture the agri-food industry and the related forward- and backward-linked industries into a “strategic export industry.” 

The cumulative value of K-Food Plus exports from January through August this year reached USD 8.41 billion, up by 5.1% from a year earlier. Notably, exports of agri-food products continued an upward trend for 12 consecutive months, with a cumulative value of USD 6.48 billion for the January-August period, up by 8.7% from a year earlier. This growth was backed by remarkable increases in exports of Korean ramyeon, processed rice-based food products, ginseng products, and kimchi to the U.S. and Europe. South Korean agri-food products-related forward- and backward-linked industries recorded an export value of USD 1.93 billion for the same period. The export growth of the products from those industries was driven mainly by exports of agricultural chemicals, veterinary medicine, and pet food products.

With K-Food Plus exports expected to reach a record high this year, the MAFRA will carry out sales promotion campaigns during peak shopping seasons later this year, hold trade show BKF+ (Buy Korean Food+) where overseas buyers participate, and run K-Food challenge events.

Also, the MAFRA has been making efforts to expand the exports of smart-farm technologies and services, with the Demo Smart Farm in Australia scheduled to be completed within this year and the construction of another smart farm in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia scheduled to begin within this year as well. 

By the end of this year, the MAFRA will also hold four rounds of a road show and send a selected group of smart farm companies to Africa to promote Korean smart-farm technologies and agricultural equipment and pave a way to a new market.

Meanwhile, at the meeting, Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (KOIPA) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to respond to counterfeiting of Korean agricultural and food products.

As South Korean agricultural and food products are gaining in popularity around the world, more and more low-quality counterfeit products are popping up in overseas markets, raising concerns over possible damage to the competitiveness of Korean farmers and companies. To prevent such damage, the MAFRA, aT, the KOIPA, and other related public agencies have organized a joint consultative body.

Deputy Minister KIM Jong-gu of the MAFRA’s Agricultural Innovation Policy Office said: To achieve USD 13.5 billion in the exports of agri-food products and in the exports of products from related forward-and backward-linked industries this year, the MAFRA, exporting companies, and farmers will work together as a one team, and we will provide a wide range of support in opening up more markets overseas.”

Deputy Minister KIM Jong-gu added: “At the same time, we will work harder to minimize damage caused by counterfeit products to South Korean exporters.”