Northwest Wine and Food Pairing Seminar & Gala Dinner

Northwest Wine Coalition (NWC), a partnership between Washington State Wine Commission and Oregon State Wine Board, hosted a "Northwest Wine & Food Pairing Seminar" on May 27 in Grand Hyatt Hotel Seoul. The event was also sponsored by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, U.S. Dairy Export Council, and U.S. Cranberry Marketing Council. For this memorable event, NWC brought Geoff Kruth, a highly acclaimed Master of Sommelier from the United States as the lecturer. Mr. Kruth shared his depth of knowledge and experience about pairing wines from the Northwest regions (state of Washington and Oregon) with a variety of food and cuisine in a four hour long educational seminar during the day as well as through the gala dinner in the evening. Over 70 local wine professionals attended the seminar with strong interest and 50 influential wine opinion leaders and media journalists attended the gala dinner. The seminar and gala dinner on May 27 was actually a launching event for the month-long 'Northwest Wine By-the-Glass' sales promotion that will take place in 14 top class restaurants in Seoul, including Paris Grill of Grand Hyatt Seoul, Casa del Vino, Vin-ga, Wine Book Cafe, and JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in June 2015.

U.S. Food Products Showcased at Seoul Food & Hotel Show 2015, KINTEX, May 12-15, 2015

More than 60 American companies and trade associations comprising the largest ever U.S. Pavilion represented a wide range of products in Korea’s largest international food and agriculture show, Seoul Food & Hotel 2015. It is clear that renewed enthusiasm for agricultural trade between the United States and Korea is due in large part to the Korea -- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) implemented on March 15, 2012. In its third year of implementation, KORUS FTA has eliminated or reduced duties on many American food products leading to U.S. exports of high-value, consumer oriented products to Korea reaching a record $3.6 billion. U.S. exhibitors representing a wide array of products including blueberries, dairy products, organic foods, popcorn, and meat products, reported making many quality contacts and on-site sales of $1.2 million and a preliminary estimate of expected sales during the next 12 months totaling $13 million. For more information on export opportunities to our 5th largest market under KORUS FTA please visit KORUS FTA.

Korean Seafood Trade Mission to Seafood Expo Global 2015 Leads to $4.9 million in Potential Export Sales

ATO Seoul recruited mission members and coordinated the visit of 4 Korean seafood importers to the Seafood Expo Global (SEG) held in Brussels, Belgium, April 21-23, 2015. The program allowed the importers to meet suppliers of various American seafood products and to gain a better understanding of the U.S. seafood sector. According to the mission participants surveyed right after the activity, the trade mission resulted in $4.9 million of potential purchases from U.S. seafood suppliers over the next 12 months. In calendar year 2014, Korea imported $222 million of U.S. seafood, up 5.4 percent from $211 million in 2013.