Selection Committee for Priority Export Quarantine Negotiation Items for Agricultural and Livestock Products
Eleven Priority Items Chosen for Export Quarantine Negotiations
The government has decided to focus on export quarantine negotiations for strawberries, tangerines, and pet food to expand the export territory of agricultural and food products.
On the 26th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held the 'Selection Committee for Priority Export Quarantine Negotiation Items for Agricultural and Livestock Products' and announced on the 27th that it had selected six agricultural products, including strawberries and tangerines, and five livestock products, including pet food and beef, as priority items for export quarantine negotiations in 2025.
Since early this year, the Ministry has conducted demand surveys on desired export items targeting exporters and producer organizations. For items and countries with demand, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) assessed overseas market potential, including local demand and price competitiveness. Subsequently, a comprehensive review of domestic production, supply and quarantine conditions was conducted to prepare a proposal for priority export quarantine negotiation items.
A total of 11 items were finally selected as priority export quarantine negotiation items at this meeting. Among agricultural products, grapes (target countries: the Philippines and Uzbekistan), tangerines and kiwis (Vietnam), strawberries (T?rkiye), and sweet potatoes (the United States), which have advantages in quality competitiveness such as taste and freshness, were selected to actively target premium markets. Additionally, persimmons (China), which are in the final stages of negotiation but progressing slowly, were also selected as priority items.
For livestock products, Singapore and Vietnam were selected to newly develop the export market for Korean beef following the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) clearance in Jeju Island in the first half of this year. Heat-treated livestock products, which are less affected by export suspensions due to domestic livestock disease outbreaks, will be negotiated mainly with the United States, Australia, and China. Furthermore, in line with the global increase in pet populations, a strategic approach will be taken to export pet food to Singapore and South Africa.
Last year, the Ministry finalized quarantine negotiations for seven agricultural and food products with five countries, including oriental melons and melons (Vietnam), fresh ginseng (the United States), pet food (Israel), heat-treated poultry meat (the United Kingdom), penguins (Vietnam), and racehorses (Saudi Arabia). It also agreed to ease quarantine requirements for five items with four countries, including strawberries (the Philippines), pears and grapes (Australia), horses (Japan), and edible eggs (Singapore).
The Ministry plans to share the priority items selected through this meeting with related organizations, associations, and overseas diplomatic missions, and request that they be prioritized in quarantine negotiations conducted by country. It will also monitor progress through regular inspections throughout the year and share information via export councils for each item.
Jung Hyeryeon, Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "We will continuously pursue strategic export quarantine negotiations to expand the gourmet diplomacy horizon of our agricultural and food products by continuously discovering promising items in existing export markets such as China, the EU, the United States, and Singapore, and actively developing new strategic export markets."
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