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| ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Young-sun, seventh from right, poses at an opening ceremony for the ASEAN Trade Fair 2017 at COEX, southern Seoul, Oct. 25. / Courtesy of ASEAN-Korea Centre |
By Rachel Lee
Following last year's fruitful results, this year's ASEAN food fair boasted a variety of products that have not yet been introduced to the Korean market.
With the theme "Taste the Happiness," the ASEAN Trade Fair 2017 was held last week at COEX, southern Seoul. Over 100 food and beverage companies from countries in the region showcased products including packaged, easy-to-cook meals such as tom yam kung and pho; organic coffees such as Robusta and Arabica, and snacks made with tropical fruits like mango, durian and papaya.
"The ASEAN Trade Fair is a platform where various competitive ASEAN food and beverage products are presented to the Korean business communities," ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Young-sun said. "It brings opportunities for ASEAN and Korea to enhance their business partnership."
A section dedicated to the region's coffee and tea was set up to increase awareness of the high-quality products, as well as encourage public engagement through barista shows and coffee tasting.
A trade seminar for representatives of the participating companies was held on Oct. 24 to give them knowledge of the latest Korean food industry developments and help them build business networks with their Korean counterparts.
Korean experts gave presentations on distribution systems, sourcing trends, safety control policy for imported foods, technology trends and regulations for food packaging in Korea.
"I am certain that the ASEAN Trade Fair 2017: Taste the Happiness will further serve as a meaningful event to facilitate our exchange and strengthen the economic partnership between ASEAN and Korea," Kim said.
The ASEAN Trade Fair 2017, organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre, was held as part of Food Week Korea 2017, the largest international food exhibition in the country. The ASEAN-Korea Centre has been participating in the exhibition since 2009 to introduce a wide range of ASEAN products to the Korean market.
The organization said more than 1,500 meetings were held last year and contracts worth over $2 million signed.
The ASEAN-Korea Centre is an intergovernmental organization established in 2009 to promote exchanges between Korea and the 10 ASEAN member states.
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