Naju-si Promotes 'Natural Colorant Competitiveness Enhancement Support Project'

Published 28 Feb.2022 14:59(KST)

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do, is promoting the newly introduced policy, the ‘Natural Pigment Competitiveness Enhancement Support Project,’ to revitalize agricultural food processing and expand the added value of future agriculture.

According to the city on the 28th, this project supports 50% of the consignment processing costs required when extracting and concentrating natural pigments or manufacturing and processing agricultural food products through the Natural Pigment Industrialization Support Center (hereinafter referred to as the Natural Pigment Center) by means such as OEM or equipment rental use.

The goals include reducing the management burden on agricultural management entities and agri-food companies by lowering the manufacturing costs of natural pigments and agricultural food products, enhancing external competitiveness through distribution and sales promotion, and activating the use of the Natural Pigment Center.

Eligible applicants must have their main business site or branch located within Jeollanam-do, and support qualifications are granted if they intend to extract and concentrate natural pigments from Jeollanam-do dye crops or produce foods containing natural pigments with a domestic raw material ratio of 50% or more.

The city plans to support 50% (up to 5 million KRW) of the costs incurred for consignment production of natural pigments or agricultural food products through the Natural Pigment Center or for renting processing and production equipment within the facility.

However, costs for purchasing raw materials and transportation of raw materials and products are excluded from support.

Applications for the project can be submitted to the Natural Pigment Center by the 7th of next month along with the application form and required documents.

Required documents include a consignment manufacturing and processing order form if manufacturing is desired, proof of use of local (domestic) raw materials, national and local tax payment certificates, as well as evidence regarding origin, prototype product ingredient labeling, annual agricultural product processing volume and sales, and product manufacturing experience.

The Natural Pigment Center, located in Dongsu Agricultural Industrial Complex in Naju City, is a large-scale agricultural food processing facility built in 2016 with a total floor area of 3,967㎡ through a national project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The center has established various machinery, equipment, and production lines necessary for food manufacturing, including freeze-drying, extraction and concentration, fermentation, grinding, and packaging, supporting OEM processing, contract processing, in-house product research and development, equipment rental, manufacturing technology consulting, and prototype production.

In particular, it has established itself as a frontline base for processing agricultural products by obtaining food safety management (HACCP) certification for fruit and vegetable juices and processed products in 2018, and certification for excellent health functional food manufacturing standards (GMP) last year.

A city official said, “Through this project, we aim to reduce the manufacturing costs of natural pigments and agricultural food products to ease the management burden on agricultural entities and agri-food companies and promote the use of the Natural Pigment Center. As this is a newly introduced project to increase the utilization of cutting-edge processing facilities, boost agricultural product consumption, and invigorate the rural economy, we ask for the active interest and participation of farmers and companies.”

For more details, please check the Naju City website or the Naju Agricultural Promotion Foundation’s notices and announcements. Inquiries can be made to the Naju Agricultural Technology Center Food Planning Division or the Naju Natural Pigment Center.