S. Korea to Boost Export of Agricultural Products to U.S.

SEOUL, July 5 Asia Pulse - The South Korean government said Thursday that it aims to boost agricultural exports to the United States to help local farmers cope with the flood on cheap products from abroad.

The move comes as South Korea posted a US$11 billion trade deficit in the farm sector last year as cheap imports from countries including China, Chile and the U.S. expand market share, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.

To overcome such challenges, the ministry, along with the state-run Agriculture and Fisheries Marketing Corp. and Foreign Ministry plans to send a promotional mission to New York and Los Angeles.

Min Dong-seok, assistant agriculture minister, will lead the team that will visit the United States from Sunday through July 15 and hold talks with local food importers and retail outlets.

The officials are to hold talks with companies like Green land, Costco, Whole Food and Galleria Market, and take part in the International Fancy Food & Confection Show in New York.

The move, which follows a similar tour of China earlier this year, is to tap the market potential of the United States, that is already second largest importer of South Korean agricultural products.

As of 2006, South Korea exported US$282 million worth of farm products to the United States, or 12.2 percent of the $2.3 billion in agricultural exports for the entire year.

Experts said that with its 15 million ethnic Asian population, the country promises to be a vast market for fruits, vegetables, grains and processed foods from South Korea.

They said there is good prospects for the export of South Korean grown premium rice and paprika, as well as those for pears, persimmons and mushrooms. It added sales of kimchi, the traditional spicy side dish, and various fermented bean products, like soy sauce, could also make inroads.

Seoul official allowed the export of rice in May, while paprika has been a leading export product for the past several years. The U.S. imports 600,000 tons of rice and $200 million worth of paprika every year.

(Yonhap)

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