SEOUL, 11 August 2014 – The Korean government gave its approval late last month to the importation of processed chicken from the Philippines, the Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul reported on Monday, 11 August 2014.

The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA) of Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Forestry and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) on 28 July 2014 final and formal consent that would allow two (2) Philippine companies to start exporting processed chicken to South Korea.

“This is a considerable triumph for the Philippine poultry industry and a fitting result of years of hard work by our trade officials as this approval opens the door for more Philippine producers to Korea’s large fresh frozen chicken market,” Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez said about the announcement.

The two firms are Johanna’s Chicken Processing Center, Inc., and Integrated Meat and Poultry Processing, Inc., based in the provinces of Quezon and Bataan, on Luzon Island. The two processing plants were operating as contract-processors of San Miguel Corporation and Bounty Fresh Food, Inc., two of the Philippines’ biggest producers.

The Korean Government’s approval of the first two processing plants which was the result of eight years of negotiations augurs well for other Philippine companies interested to participate in the US$300 million Korean market for processed chicken.

This approval follows the granting by the Korean Quarantine Inspection Agency (QIA) in December 2013 of full market access to Bounty Fresh Food.