Supporting the expansion of K-Food exports through strong countermeasures against counterfeit goods through public-private cooperation!
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Minister Song Mei-ling, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) will hold a meeting with major export companies and related organizations to discuss export performance up to the third and fourth quarters and future plans to expand K-Food+ exports.
K-Food+: This refers to K-Food, which means Korean agricultural and food products, and the related industries such as smart farms, agricultural machinery and materials, and veterinary medicine will be added to foster the agricultural and food industry and related industries as export strategic industries.
As of the end of August 2024, K-Food Plus exports amounted to USD 8.41 billion, up 5.1% year-on-year. In particular, the agricultural and food sector increased by 8.7% year-on-year to USD 6.48 billion, showing growth for 12 consecutive months. Growth is notable in the United States and Europe, centered on ramen, processed rice products, ginseng, and kimchi. The upstream and downstream industries also recorded USD 1.93 billion, with pesticides, veterinary medicines, and pet food (pet feed) increasing.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs expects this year’s K-Food+ export performance to hit an all-time high, and plans to encourage cooperation between related organizations and export companies through this meeting to achieve the export goal of $13.5 billion by the end of the year. During the remaining period, it plans to promote online and offline sales promotions during the year-end consumption season, buyer invitation export consultations (BKF+: Buy Korean Food+), and K-Food challenges utilizing the Korean Wave.
In addition, in order to expand overseas expansion of smart farms, a pilot greenhouse in Australia is scheduled to be completed within this year, and a pilot greenhouse in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to be started. In the second half of the year, road shows in the smart farm and agricultural machinery sector will be held four times, and a market development team (veterinary medicine) will be dispatched to Africa to promote K-smart agricultural technology and secure new markets.
Meanwhile, at the meeting held that day, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Distribution Corporation) and the Korea Intellectual Property Protection Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Protection Agency) signed a business agreement for cooperation in responding to K-Food counterfeit products.
Recently, with the rise in popularity of K-Food, low-priced, low-quality counterfeit products are being produced and distributed overseas, and there are concerns that the competitiveness of our export farmers and companies will weaken. In order to prevent and remedy this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Korea Distribution Corporation, the Korea Food Industry Association, and others have formed a consultative body.
In particular, distribution companies and protection agencies with expertise in export support and intellectual property will actively cooperate to ▲raise awareness of intellectual property rights among export company officials and provide education on preventing and responding to damages, ▲investigate the status of overseas K-Food counterfeit products and provide litigation support, and ▲resolve difficulties related to counterfeit products.
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mei-ling said, “In order to achieve this year’s export target of $13.5 billion for agricultural, food, and upstream and downstream industries, the government, exporting farmers, and companies will work as a team,” and “In order to minimize damage caused by the distribution of counterfeit goods overseas, we will actively resolve export difficulties by cooperating with the Korean Intellectual Property Office.”
Kim Si-hyung, deputy commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office who attended the meeting, said, “Counterfeit products that infringe on the K-brand are acting as a ‘hidden enemy’ that makes it difficult to expand exports,” and added, “The Korean Intellectual Property Office will actively support our agricultural and food companies to increase exports and expand overseas expansion by working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and related organizations such as the Korea Distribution Corporation and the Korea Food Industry Association.”
Editor. Hong Se-yeong
