Establishing a Bridgehead for Korean Seafood Products to Enter the European Market

- Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) and National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (NFFC) to hold the opening ceremony of the Paris Trade Support Center on November 20 to strengthen support for small and medium-sized fisheries companies by establishing a base for export to European countries

 MOF and NFFC will hold an opening ceremony for the "Paris Trade Support Center" in Paris, France on Wednesday, November 20 to begin full-scale operation of the Paris Trade Support Center in support of Korean seafood companies exploring the European market.

 Until now, Korean fishery product exports have been structured to be concentrated in three countries—US, China, and Japan—but the opening of the Paris Trade Support Center is expected to provide MOF with the basis for diversifying Korea's export markets and establishing a stable foundation for continued export growth.

 The trend of Korea's fishery product exports over the past 10 years shows that the EU region's export growth (annual average of 8%) is more prominent than the overall export growth; France in particular is showing the highest export growth among EU countries, so active market support is necessary. The Paris Trade Support Center will serve as a bridgehead for entering the European market by overcoming the high barrier for non-tariff trade, such as complex EU food import regulations, registration of production and processing facilities, and safety standards for aquatic products as well as local settlement of Korean aquatic products companies.

 In the future, the Paris Trade Support Center plans to identify promising export items for major European countries, hold trade consultations with overseas buyers for Korean aquatic product companies, and promote Korean aquatic products by supporting their participation in international exhibitions. Moreover, MOF plans to spur the development of the European market through overseas market development projects for fishery products, such as holding online and offline PR events at local superstores and HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant, Cafe) markets and supporting local office space for Korean marine product companies.

 About 80 people are expected to attend the opening ceremony of the Paris Trade Support Center including the following: Director General Hong Rae-hyung of Fisheries Policy at MOF; Kim Ki-seong, CEO of NFFC; Moon Seung-hyun, Ambassador to France; and officials from local related organizations and overseas buyers.

 “Because the market for our marine products has been concentrated in certain countries, the opening of this trade support center will serve as an opportunity to diversify markets for marine product exports and spread our excellent marine products worldwide. In the future, we will actively support our marine product companies in expanding their presence in the European market using the Paris Trade Support Center as an export base,” Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kang Do-hyung said.