Washington State Wine Commission Seminar & Tasting in Seoul

Washington State Wine Commission (WSWC) brought a delegation of seven wineries to Seoul and hosted a trade seminar, tasting and wine-sampling dinner June 3, 2014. The event was differentiated from WSWC's previous delegations to Korea as it specifically targeted the Korean audience in the restaurant and bar trade. The event started in the morning with a detailed seminar on Washington state viticulture and wine styles, followed by trade tasting in the afternoon and a food-wine paring dinner in the evening. Rob Andersen, the marketing director of WSWC who led the delegation pointed out that Korea is one of the top priority markets in Asia for the Washington wine industry and WSWC is committed to help its member wineries expand business opportunities in Korea with various yet targeted marketing programs in the coming year. Korea's wine imports from the United States in 2014 through April increased 10.5 percent over the same period of the previous year, which was much higher than the overall wine import growth from all countries, 7 percent. More information of the wine market in Korea can be found in Korea Wine Market Brief 2013 that ATO Seoul published.

ATO-KAFI Joint Hiking to Chung-Gye Mountain, May 30, 2014

ATO Seoul hosted an outreach hiking trip to Chung-Gye Mountain on May 30 together with the Korean Association of Food Importers (KAFI). KAFI, representing some of the leading independent food import-distribute companies in Korea, offers a private venue for the industry to share ideas and information while promoting friendship and coalition among members. Actually, the discussion of some potential trade issues resulted in a follow up meeting later at FAS offices and, some good news was shared and well received, regarding recent favorable outcomes on Country of Origin verification under the new Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and ROK. Despite the hot weather, the hiking trip to this well-known mountain trail at the southern border of the city of Seoul was attended by over 30 KAFI members as well as by a dozen staffs of FAS Seoul, including Kevin Smith (Agricultural Minister Counselor) and Kevin Sage-EL (ATO director). The trip was completed with a grilled pork dinner in a local restaurant. ATO Seoul has maintained a close working relationship with KAFI members over the years through various MAP/CSSF programs. Contact listings of the importers by product are available from ATO Seoul upon request.

Seoul Food & Hotel 2014, May 13-16, 2014

Implementation of the Korea -- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) on March 15, 2012 brought renewed enthusiasm for agricultural trade between the United States and Korea. More than 46 American companies and trade associations representing a wide range of products participated in Korea’s largest international food and agriculture show, Seoul Food & Hotel 2014. The Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) has zeroed-out or reduced duties on American food products and in 2013, the second year of the Agreement, U.S. exports of high-value, consumer oriented products to Korea reached a record $3 billion. U.S. exhibitors representing a wide array of products including blueberries, dairy products, dehydrated potatoes, popcorn, and meat products, reported making many quality contacts and on-site sales of $4.2 million and a preliminary estimate of expected sales during the next 12 months totaling $22 million. For more information on export opportunities to our 5th largest market under KORUS FTA please visit KORUS FTA.