230 Companies Participate at EXCO
60 Buyers from 19 Countries Invited
From the 28th to the 31st, Daegu City will host the 24th Daegu International Food Industry Exhibition, the largest comprehensive food trade show outside the Seoul metropolitan area, at EXCO for four days.
Now in its 24th year, the Daegu International Food Industry Exhibition is a specialized food trade show held annually to support food companies in pioneering domestic and international markets, and to provide information and trends on the rapidly changing global food industry.
While many food exhibitions are struggling to attract participants due to the sluggish domestic market, the Daegu International Food Industry Exhibition has prepared in line with Daegu City's policy of fostering the food industry through exports. This year, a record 230 companies will participate, operating 442 booths. Last year, 223 companies operated 433 booths.
Among the participating companies, 162 are from outside Daegu, accounting for 70.4%, which demonstrates that the Daegu Food Expo is growing into a nationwide food exhibition. This achievement is attributed to the exhibition's effectiveness in helping participating companies develop new sales channels.
This year, Daegu City will also host the food exhibition as a business-oriented event to support participating companies' entry into overseas markets, inviting 60 buyers from 52 companies across 19 countries?double the number from last year?for export consultations on the 28th and 29th.
In particular, this year's export consultations will see the first participation of seven buyers from T?rkiye, a G20 member with the 17th largest GDP in the world as of 2023. Although T?rkiye is considered an untapped market by the domestic food industry, Daegu expects this exhibition to help expand food exports to the country, especially given the buyers' strong interest in K-beauty and K-food.
Additionally, seven member buyers from KOFIA (Korea Food Importers Association of Asia-Pacific), which signed an agreement with Daegu City last September, will also participate in this year's food industry exhibition to support Daegu's food exports.
CGF Co., a Samcheopbunsik franchise that participated in the export consultations for the first time last year, completed the necessary procedures for export to India in April and shipped products for local market testing. Based on the response, the company plans to expand exports in earnest. It is also reported to be in export consultations worth $200,000 with a Canadian buyer, raising expectations for increased export volume.
Furthermore, Seong Kyungsun Mandu, a local dumpling manufacturer that has been exporting through the Daegu Food Industry Exhibition since 2017, exports about 200 million KRW worth of products annually to ten countries including the United States, Canada, and China. This highlights the significant role of Daegu City's export consultations in helping local food companies expand into overseas markets.
In addition, this year's exhibition will feature a variety of food processing and packaging machines such as retort sterilizers, foreign substance detectors, and thermoforming packaging machines, further establishing its identity as a specialized food trade show. To boost domestic demand in the food service sector, a school meal seminar will also be held five times over two days, on the 29th and 31st.
Jangsu Jeong, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of Daegu City, said, "We have thoroughly prepared to make the Daegu International Food Industry Exhibition the largest food exhibition outside the metropolitan area, so that all food-related business can take place in Daegu," adding, "Daegu City will spare no effort to ensure that the Food Industry Exhibition provides practical support for food companies to expand their exports."
The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and until 4 p.m. on the 31st. Admission is free with pre-registration.
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