KOTRA to Hold 'Seoul Food 2020' Exhibition Online

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The curtain has risen on the largest food exhibition in Korea and one of Asia's top four food fairs. KOTRA announced that it will hold the 'Seoul Food 2020' exhibition for four days starting from the 15th. Due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), KOTRA has converted this exhibition entirely to an online format.

This year's 'Seoul Food 2020' exhibition will be conducted across five program areas: ▲Online Exhibition ▲Video Consultations ▲Conference ▲Awards ▲Job Fair.

The online exhibition halls, featuring 28 food product categories and 23 food machinery categories, will support the promotion of products from over 400 domestic and international companies. A video consultation meeting will also be held between 200 domestic food export companies arranged by KOTRA's overseas trade offices and 300 overseas buyers.

As a representative side event of Seoul Food, the 4th annual 'Global Food Trend & Tech Conference' will be held on the 16th in the form of an online live show. Under the theme 'Food Tech Trends in the Post-COVID Era,' it will provide insights into remote consumption trends in the global food market and the latest food technology developments.

At the 'Seoul Food Awards,' five outstanding products will be selected in each of three categories: Dessert, Healing, and Innovation. The 'Online Job Fair' will assist young Koreans in finding employment in food companies through non-face-to-face programs. In particular, it will collaborate with the Gyeonggi-do Job Foundation to discover job seekers and employers.

Meanwhile, although exports have decreased due to COVID-19, agricultural and food exports reached $4.8 billion by August this year, marking a 4.9% growth compared to the same period last year. K-Food products such as Kimchi (40.3%), ramen (36.7%), and sauces (23.5%) are leading the export growth, creating new opportunities for Korea's food industry.

Kwon Pyung-oh, President of KOTRA, stated, “We need to pay attention to food industry trends such as the rise of Home Meal Replacement (HMR), the growth of the delivery food market, and the increasing demand for health functional foods to boost immunity,” adding, “We hope Seoul Food will serve as an opportunity to establish strategies for entering the global market.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.