Wando-gun Partners with Vietnam K-Market to Open Southeast Asian Market Channels

Seafood Promotion Event Held and $500,000 Export Contract Signed with K-Market

Wando County signed a seafood export business agreement with Vietnam's K-Market. (Photo by Wando County)

[Wando=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil] Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, held the ‘Wando-gun Excellent Seafood Promotion Exhibition’ in Hanoi, Vietnam, from the 10th to the 13th, in collaboration with K-Market, a major Vietnamese distribution chain.

At the opening ceremony of the promotion event held on the 11th at K-Market Golden Palace branch, Wando-gun and K-Market signed a seafood export contract worth $500,000 to continuously hold the ‘Wando Seafood Local Promotion Exhibition.’

The promotion event has been held for three consecutive years with Vietnam’s K-Market to expand the Southeast Asian market for Wando seafood. This year, products certified with the international eco-friendly seafood certification ASC and organic seafood certification were showcased to highlight the excellence of Wando seafood.

A total of 10 companies participated in the promotion, including Haecheongjeong, Segyero Fisheries, Daehan Trading, Wando Da Fisheries Corporation, Badamyeongga, Dasima Jeonbok Fisheries, Wando Sea Food, Wando Sarang S&F, Haenam Wando Specialty Distribution Agricultural Cooperative, and Nuri Jeonbok Fishery Cooperative Corporation.

Various products such as boiled abalone, abalone porridge, frozen abalone, as well as seaweed including gim, miyeok, and assorted seaweed were sold, with participating companies and items directly selected by K-Market.

According to data from the Korea International Trade Association, despite adverse factors such as the global economic recession and rising prices, Wando-gun exported seafood worth $5.68 million cumulatively to Vietnam as of September 2022, more than doubling compared to the previous year’s cumulative amount of $2.33 million. The item that contributed to this export surge this year was live abalone ($5.01 million), accounting for about 88% of the seafood export items to Vietnam and 16% of Wando-gun’s total live abalone exports.

This increase in exports is understood to be due to the recent surge in demand for high-quality and imported seafood in Vietnam. In particular, Wando abalone has established itself as a premium seafood item locally, leading the seafood market.

The county plans to continuously hold one-on-one export consultations by inviting Vietnamese buyers to ensure steady exports of various product groups such as live abalone, flatfish, processed abalone products, gim, miyeok, and dasima, and to strengthen promotion and marketing through various promotional events with local large distribution chains.

Shin Woo-cheol, the mayor of Wando-gun, said, “Through this promotion event, we were once again able to feel the status of our county as the clean sea capital of Korea and the number one seafood area in the country,” adding, “We will continue to do our best in product development and support for promotional events so that excellent Wando seafood can captivate the taste buds of people around the world.”

Meanwhile, as of November 2022, Wando-gun holds ASC certification at 39 locations (the largest in Korea) and organic seafood certification at 29 locations. The county spares no effort in supporting the acquisition and management of domestic and international certifications to become a leader in the global eco-friendly seafood premium market.

Wando=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyung-pil alwatros@asiae.co.kr

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