The National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service will run a Korea Pavilion at the upcoming BioFach America 2016 organic food fair, introducing a range of Korean organic food products to overseas buyers.

BioFach is one of the biggest organic agriculture and food trade fairs in the world, and BioFach America will start on Sept. 22 in Baltimore, Md., and run until Sept. 24, bringing together organically grown products from around the world. Many related companies -- buyers and sellers -- flock to the trade fair to get a glimpse into new lines of products and to grab a good chance at signing new contracts.

Korea will be represented by nine companies this year, including Chungo, Seonhan Sesang, Nokchawon, Kanglim Organic, Troo Nature and Farmers’ Mom, and there will be a total of 39 Korea-made environmentally-friendly organic products on offer. They include mixed grain powder, tea, soy sauce, soybean paste or doenjang, red pepper paste or gochujang, perilla oil and brown rice.

In July 2014, Korea and the U.S. signed the Korea-U.S. Organic Equivalence Agreement, an agreement to recognize each other’s certification process for organic goods. Under this agreement, any food item that obtained organic certification in Seoul would be recognized as “organic” in the U.S. without any additional authentication required.

“As interest in organic food among non-Korean customers continues to grow, the organic food market continues to expand, as well,” said Director General Lee Jae-ouk of the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service. “Hopefully, our participation in the upcoming Baltimore trade fair will be a good chance to increase exports of Korean organic products on the global scene.”

By Sohn JiAe
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photo: BioFach America
jiae5853@korea.kr