MANILA, 26 April 2016 - A 14-member Korean delegation visited the Philippines recently on a business mission organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in cooperation with the Seoul-based ASEAN Korea Center (AKC) to look for food suppliers and to help Philippine food companies improve their products for the Korean market.

DTI's Commercial Counselor in Seoul, Mr. Emmanuel Ang, said seven Korean companies seeking Philippine food products joined the mission, together with three expert Korean speakers, on 7-8 April 2016. The DTI's Export Management Bureau (EMB), through Director Senen Perlada and Assistant Director Anthony Rivera, prepared a comprehensive program for the delegation. The program consisted of a seminar presentation on what the Philippines can offer, business-to-business (B2B) meetings, factory visits, a meeting with top officials of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), as well as a guided tour of Madrid Fusion Manila, the first and only Asian edition of the most important international gastronomy congress in the world. The Korean companies were FF Corporation, Bar Kor, Jinsung F. M., Naesung Enterprise Co., Ltd., Nature Food, ILSHINNAPU, and Korea's biggest food firm CJ Cheil Jedang. They expressed interest in local processed fruit products such as mangoes and calamondin (calamansi in Filipino), as well as a wide range of coconut products, coffee, cacao, among other product categories. The B2B meetings were jam-packed, with at least 119 Filipino exporters in attendance, producing more than 159 one-on-one meetings between Korean buyers and Filipino suppliers. "Apart from sourcing from us, Korea also wants to help our Philippine food exporters improve our products and make these better suited for the Korean market," Mr Ang said, adding that several expert speakers joined the mission to conduct market seminars. CJ Cheil Jedang's strategic purchasing specialist Mr. Lee Ho-yeon revealed how the largest Korean food company sources products from overseas and what products they buy while Dr. Oh Jae-young of Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL) shared the latest trends and requirements for Korean food packaging. With more and more Koreans preferring to eat out than cook at home, famous Korean chef Mr. Kim Jin-rae of Maison de la Categorie restaurant provided a useful overview of the current dining trends and preferences of Koreans, especially for gourmet food. The delegation was headed by AKC Deputy Director Mr. Lee Dong-go, who received positive feedback from his Korean buyers. At its conclusion, Mr Lee said the business mission was "very successful. The trip to the Philippines was very impressive, especially Madrid Fusion Manila." AKC Deputy Director Lee said many companies expressed interest to join another business trip in the future, adding that as a follow-through event, AKC will invite and support 10 Filipino companies, thru the Philippine Investment and Trade Center (PTIC) in Seoul, to come visit Seoul to participate in the ASEAN Trade Fair on 2-5 November 2016. South Korea is the seventh biggest business partner of the Philippines with a total trade of US$6.8 billion in 2015, ranked top 6 as an import source valued at US$4.3 billion for 2015 and top 7 export destination with total exports for the same period at US$2.5 billion.