Udeumji Farm is showing strong performance. As abnormal climate phenomena intensify worldwide, concerns over food security in the Middle East are growing, raising expectations that a domestic company will dominate the smart farm market in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is promoting the introduction of smart farms to maintain food production and stock levels at a certain standard. Udeumji Farm is accelerating its global expansion, focusing on Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia based on its proprietary technology. In particular, it is receiving active love calls for its advanced technology in Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries, where demand for cutting-edge agriculture is high due to the dry desert climate.
It appears that news of President Yoon Suk-yeol holding talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the 22nd (local time), agreeing that Korea is Saudi Arabia's "optimal partner" in the post-oil era, is influencing the stock price. The two countries discussed expanding cooperation from existing energy and construction sectors to advanced industries, tourism, and cultural exchanges. Cooperation is expected to expand into various fields such as clean energy, electric vehicles, digital technology, and smart farms.
As of 10:14 a.m. on the 23rd, Udeumji Farm was trading at 2,130 KRW, up 345 KRW (19.33%) from the previous trading day.
On the occasion of President Yoon’s state visit, companies from both countries are expected to sign MOUs worth a total of 15.6 billion USD (approximately 21 trillion KRW). According to the presidential office, President Yoon held a 47-minute Korea-Saudi Arabia summit with Crown Prince bin Salman at Yamama Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, expressing a strong will to deepen and develop a future-oriented strategic partnership between the two countries. They discussed expanding cooperation into tourism, smart farms, patents, shipping, marine fisheries, statistics, cybersecurity, and food and drug regulations.
Earlier, in September, Udeumji Farm visited Saudi Arabia as part of the "3rd Shuttle Economic Cooperation Group" and signed local business agreements worth 34.2 million USD (approximately 45.5 billion KRW). Udeumji Farm was selected as a participating company due to its recognized capabilities in advanced agriculture sectors, including its self-developed "semi-enclosed smart farm" technology. The agreements were signed with agtech company "Badia Farms" and business management consulting firm "Saudi Financial Consulting Center (FCC)."
Badia Farms is one of the local companies leading the integration of advanced technology into agriculture. They signed an agreement worth 19 million USD related to Udeumji Farm’s smart farm solutions and the establishment of processing plants. FCC signed an agreement worth 15.2 million USD, focusing on the potential in the food market.
Udeumji Farm is also putting effort into Korean-style smart farm projects. It developed and built the country’s first semi-enclosed glass greenhouse applying Korean ICT (Information and Communication Technology) technology.
IBK Investment & Securities analyzed that Udeumji Farm’s core competitiveness lies in smart farm crop production based on IT technology, and the operation of the third-generation smart farm carries significant meaning.
The global smart farm market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 8.9%. The market size is estimated at 450 trillion KRW. Due to its high growth potential, major IT companies such as Microsoft and Amazon are also showing interest in smart farm-related businesses. Udeumji Farm’s smart farms are expected to have an advantage in the Middle East because they are not affected by abnormal temperatures and pests in desert-type terrains.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
