Agricultural Industry Export Target of $13 Billion (Agricultural Food $10 Billion + Related Industries $3 Billion)
[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 26th that it held the launching ceremony of the 'K-Food+ Export Expansion Promotion Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as the Promotion Headquarters)' at the aT Center located in Yangjae-dong, Seoul.
K-Food+ signifies adding related industries such as intelligent farms (smart farms) and agricultural machinery to K-Food, which represents Korean agricultural and food products, with the aim of expanding exports and fostering these as strategic export industries.
The Promotion Headquarters, headed by Minister Jeong Hang-geun of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is a public-private consultative body established to develop not only Korean agricultural and food products, well known as K-Food, but also smart farms, agricultural machinery, veterinary medicines, and pet food as export industries.
Despite difficult conditions last year, including global inflation and logistics crises, exports of agricultural and food-related industries reached $11.6 billion (with $8.8 billion from agricultural and food products), marking a 4% increase compared to the previous year. This is the highest record ever. The government plans to foster agricultural and food exports as a core growth engine of the industry this year as well, despite significant concerns about domestic and international economic slowdowns.
The newly launched Promotion Headquarters aims for exports exceeding $13 billion (with $10 billion from agricultural and food products and $3 billion from related industries), a 12% increase from last year.
Prior to the launching ceremony, a meeting was held with 25 participants including representatives from major food companies, integrated export organizations for items such as strawberries and paprika, smart farm and agricultural machinery company CEOs, and heads of related organizations. At this meeting, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs shared government support policies to achieve the export target of $13 billion, and company representatives and organization heads presented opinions on export expansion and discussed policy support measures.
This year, the government plans to support the agricultural and food sector by providing ▲ export logistics costs of 30 billion KRW and export financing (loans) worth 460 billion KRW ▲ strengthening overseas marketing support for ten major export items such as strawberries and grapes, as well as promising new growth items like advanced food technology (food tech) ▲ designating 20 excellent Korean restaurants overseas linked to the Korean Wave and Korean cuisine ▲ expanding cold chain logistics from entry ports to consumption destinations ▲ discovering and fostering promising items such as powdered rice and pet food.
For smart farms, the government plans to establish 'Korean-style pilot greenhouses' in new markets such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, linking differentiated varieties like strawberries to promote export expansion. Agricultural machinery will diversify markets to Central and South America and Southeast Asia based on increased recognition in the North American market, and veterinary medicines will see the establishment of efficacy and safety evaluation centers and prototype production facilities. Fertilizer raw material purchase financing worth 600 billion KRW will be expanded to cover 12 types of raw materials.
In his welcoming speech at the launching ceremony, Minister Jeong said, "Agriculture can definitely become a strategic export industry," expressing his determination to overcome this year's challenging export conditions with confidence and full effort, as the saying goes, crisis is opportunity.
Minister Jeong also stated plans to communicate closely with the field at least once per quarter and frequently with working-level officials. To identify and resolve field difficulties and discover cooperative tasks with export companies, a private expert advisory group will also be operated.
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