KOTRA Expands Logistics and Certification Support to Resolve Export Companies' Difficulties

Announcement of Emergency Plan for Export Plus in Three Major Areas: Logistics, Certification, and Overseas Marketing

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 15th that it will activate an emergency export growth plan for the second half of the year. This initiative aims to support export companies amid concerns over a slowdown in export growth due to global inflation and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war. KOTRA has established three major emergency plans to provide pinpoint support in the areas that export companies identify as their biggest challenges: logistics, certification, and overseas marketing.

In the logistics sector, efforts will focus on supporting export logistics costs. As of this month, the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) stands at 2847.62 points, down from the peak of 5109.90 points in January this year, but still more than twice as high as before the COVID-19 outbreak. In a survey conducted by KOTRA in August, over 80% of respondent companies mentioned logistics difficulties such as high freight rates and shipment delays.

In response, KOTRA plans to expand support for export logistics costs through dedicated export vouchers, covering logistics expenses incurred after July 1 up to a limit of 14 million KRW. For export companies that find it difficult to establish logistics centers overseas, support will be provided through overseas joint logistics centers. KOTRA’s overseas joint logistics centers offer services that allow domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies to store, package, and ship their products abroad.

In the certification sector, KOTRA will support SMEs and mid-sized companies in obtaining overseas certifications. KOTRA is recruiting companies for export voucher support by industry, focusing on materials, parts, equipment, and consumer goods to help acquire necessary overseas standard certifications for export. Costs related to certifications issued after February 1 will be supported, targeting 412 overseas standard certifications including ▲CE (EU) ▲NMPA (China) ▲ISO (quality, environmental management systems), among others.

In the overseas marketing sector, a large-scale export consultation event will be held in early December to meet the demand for overseas marketing support from SMEs and mid-sized companies. As face-to-face business is normalizing recently, a large-scale O2O (Online to Offline) export consultation meeting will be promoted between overseas buyers and domestic companies. Promising buyers who have signed contracts will be invited, along with buyers from key core materials, parts, and equipment industries such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, as well as future growth strategic industries like green energy and information and communication technology (ICT).

Yoo Jeong-yeol, President of KOTRA, said, "The purpose of this emergency export plan is to enhance export vitality by reflecting the voices from the field of our export companies struggling under difficult external conditions," adding, "We will take the lead in removing export obstacles with the government so that more of our companies can find their way in overseas markets."

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