‘Bangkok’ impossible K-food craze, heating up Thailand!
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Minister Song Mi-ryeong) and the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation (CEO Kim Chun-jin) participated in the ‘Thailand Bangkok Food Expo (THAIFEX 2024)’ from May 28 to June 1 with the largest Korean pavilion ever, with a total of $86 million. achieved export consulting results.
‘Bangkok Food Fair’ is an international exhibition co-hosted by the Thai government and the global exhibition planning company Kolognemesse, which hosts Germany’s Anuga, the world’s largest food fair, with 3,133 companies from 52 countries participating in an area of 130,000㎡. It is the largest food fair in Southeast Asia.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Corporation planned a collaborative project, such as operating a joint sample exhibition hall, to increase the on-site marketing effect of domestic exporters participating in this expo. In particular, as a result of continuous consultation with representatives from about 46 organizations since the beginning of the year, the ‘Integrated Korean Pavilion’ was formed with a total of 154 companies, the largest ever, thereby providing full support to the network expansion and product promotion of companies participating in the expo.
The integrated Korea pavilion, comprised of excellent K-food exporters, showcased a variety of promising items such as ready-to-eat foods, alcoholic beverages, health foods, and sauces, which are in high local demand, and held heated discussions with the participating buyers.
In particular, ‘Mungyeong Schisandra’ and ‘Boseong Green Tea’, which are made from excellent agricultural specialties of each region, received great attention from locals. In addition, thanks to the popularity of K-liquor, buyer inquiries poured in for liquor products such as premium soju and traditional makgeolli, raising expectations for increased exports to ASEAN countries, including Thailand.
Saranya Phanom, a local buyer who visited the Korean pavilion, commented positively, saying, “It was very convenient as there was a space where I could see the products of Korean companies participating in this expo at a glance, and thanks to this, I was able to discover many new promising items.”
“Thailand is an important export bridgehead not only to the ASEAN region but also to Southwest Asia and the Middle East,” said Kim Kyung-cheol, head of the ASEAN Regional Headquarters, who oversees the ASEAN export market, including Thailand, at the corporation. “Domestic exporters will continue to expand overseas and export performance will increase in the future.” “We will continue to discover promising export items and further develop the ‘Integrated Korea Pavilion’ into a space where K-food export cooperation and innovation take place,” he said.
Editor James
