Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries: "Significantly Expand Shipping Capacity and Port Infrastructure to Strengthen Export Support"

President-led '4th Export Strategy Meeting'
Strategies to Expand Exports in Agricultural Food and Marine Fisheries Sectors

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Joo Sang-don] The government has decided to expand maritime transport capacity by 30% by 2027 to establish a dense global logistics network. Additionally, to stably handle the continuously increasing trade volume, port infrastructure will be expanded by 20% by 2030. This is to further strengthen the national export logistics support system for the expansion of national exports.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced the "National Export Logistics Support and Marine Fisheries Export Expansion Strategy" at the 4th Export Strategy Meeting chaired by President Yoon Seok-yeol. The Ministry prepared this strategy following President Yoon's policy that export promotion requires active and preemptive government support.

The shipping industry is a national key industry responsible for 99.7% of the country's import and export cargo. At the same time, it is Korea's 7th largest export industry, having achieved a record-high service export of $38.3 billion last year.

First, to build a dense international logistics network, the Ministry plans to expand maritime transport capacity from 93 million tons in 2021 to 120 million tons by 2027, a 30% increase. Ultra-large vessels and methanol-powered ships will be deployed on the trans-Pacific route to enhance transport competitiveness. For the European route, cooperation with national deep-sea shipping companies will be pursued to establish a new Mediterranean route and strengthen the Eastern European transport network. Meanwhile, the transport network will be diversified to emerging promising routes such as the Middle East, India, and South America.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Ports will timely expand infrastructure to stably handle the continuously increasing trade volume. By 2030, through attracting private investment of 18.4 trillion KRW and others, handling capacity will be expanded by 20% (from 1.26 billion tons in 2021 to 1.6 billion tons in 2030). The hinterland of ports will additionally supply an area about five times the size of Yeouido (from 16.45 million square meters in 2022 to 31.26 million square meters in 2030). Furthermore, fully automated ports such as Busan Port's "Smart Mega Port" will be established to increase cargo handling speed by more than 30%, and dedicated terminals and logistics centers for Korean companies will be secured overseas to support the punctuality of export cargo and competitiveness in logistics costs.

Customized logistics and institutional support for export sectors will also be strengthened. To enhance the order competitiveness of the shipbuilding industry, which is riding a favorable tide, the demonstration and certification of high value-added ships such as eco-friendly vessels will be simplified. Additionally, to support fresh logistics systems for agricultural, fishery, and pharmaceutical products, a cold chain cluster will be established at Incheon Port. For small and medium-sized enterprises struggling to secure stable vessels due to insufficient volume, support will be provided for long-term transport contract signing with shipping companies.

Targeting $3.5 billion in seafood exports this year... Promoting high value-added and diversification

Along with strengthening the export logistics system, expansion of marine fisheries exports will also be pursued. Seafood, which achieved a record-high export performance of $3.16 billion in 2022, aims for $3.5 billion in 2023 by promoting high value-added and diversification strategies. As part of the high value-added strategy, support for premium raw materials such as salmon, abalone, and individual oysters will be strengthened, and high-priced processed seafood and functional foods will be developed through technology development. In particular, for salmon, a smart aquaculture cluster will be established through attracting investment from large corporations to build a mass production system.

To diversify products and export markets, products that meet the latest consumer trends such as ready-to-eat meals and meal kits, as well as future foods like seafood alternatives and cell-cultured meat, will be developed in response to the spread of value consumption. The export market, currently centered on China, Japan, and the United States (62.1%), will be diversified to the European Union (EU), Southeast Asia, and halal/kosher markets.

Efforts will also be made to secure new growth engines for promising marine industry exports. To secure new export industries in the marine fisheries sector, the cruise tourism industry, smart port equipment industry, and fishery-related industries will be fostered. Since cruise tourism, which attracted about 1.95 million tourists in 2016, is resuming about three years after operational restrictions due to COVID-19, cruise infrastructure such as terminals, customs inspection, immigration control, and quarantine will be improved. Through active port sales, the plan is to recover tourist numbers as soon as possible to contribute to improving Korea's travel balance. Also, considering that domestic port equipment mostly relies on overseas products despite Korea being the world's 4th largest container handling country, domestic automated cranes and port transport equipment will be developed to achieve import substitution effects and promote exports in the mid to long term. Smart aquaculture systems, fishing vessels, and advanced fishery equipment will be fostered to create a virtuous cycle export ecosystem with seafood products.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will establish a "Pan-government Export Logistics Hotline" centered on the "Marine Fisheries Export Promotion Planning Group," formed on the 10th, to promptly respond with related agencies such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Korea Customs Service in case of export logistics issues.

Minister Cho Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said, "Considering the difficult global economic conditions such as complex crises and economic bloc formation, we will build a national export logistics support system that will not waver under any circumstances." He added, "With the determination to industrialize all areas of the sea, we will actively foster not only traditional marine fisheries industries such as seafood and shipping services but also promising marine industries to secure new growth engines for exports."

Minister Cho Seung-hwan of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. [Photo by Yonhap News]

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