Korean food exporters promote products at Bangkok expo

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is working with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) to host “Seoul Food in Bangkok 2024”, the country’s largest food exhibition.
The event promotes information exchange between South Korean and international food companies, as well as industry stakeholders seeking business transactions, starting in Bangkok and expanding globally.
Jung Won Joon, director-general of exhibitions and conventions at Kotra, expressed optimism that the export of Korean gastronomy has growth potential because of the prominence of Korean culture in Thailand.
“Seafood products, seaweed, instant noodles, sauce and condiments are ranked as South Korea’s top food exports to Thailand,” said Mr Jung.
As Thailand is a hub for K-culture, he said he believes the selection of Thailand for this event will have a significant impact on other countries in the region.
The business-to-business (B2B) exhibition ran from Thursday to Sunday, featuring 92 South Korean exporters at True Icon Hall in Iconsiam.
The business-to-consumer (B2C) exhibition, running from Thursday to Nov 3, serves as a pop-up event located at Sooksiam of Iconsiam, featuring 31 South Korean exporters offering seasonal promotions and marketing campaigns.
During the B2B exhibition, 300 representatives from major distribution networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, including Thailand’s CP Group and Central Retail, as well as Vietnam’s Lotte, were invited to business-matching events.
In addition, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Thai Chamber of Commerce to enhance economic exchanges between South Korean and Thai food companies, strengthening institutional cooperation.
Mr Jung said the agency expects the event to generate more than US$300 million in deals in the B2B segment and $40,000 for the B2C segment.
Kotra is aiming for 200,000 visitors to the exhibition.
The agency has no plans to host another overseas event, but wants to host a second Bangkok exhibition next year, in a bid to encourage more than 200 South Korean export companies to participate, he said.