(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Yoo Han-joo = The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 1st that Jeju Hanwoo and pork have embarked on their first export journey to Singapore.
This is just a month after the export was officially agreed upon during the Korea-Singapore summit last month on the 2nd.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, held a shipment ceremony at 2 PM on the same day at Jeju Port to commemorate the first export of Jeju Hanwoo and pork.
The ceremony was attended by approximately 150 people, including Song Sung-ok, Director of the Gwangju Food and Drug Safety Office, Park Jeong-hoon, Director of the Food Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Jeju Governor Oh Yeong-hoon, along with export companies and producer groups. The event shared the progress made and awarded certificates of merit to contributors. Notably, a ribbon-cutting performance at the event unveiled the vision to open up new markets in the global market.
The Singapore export operation sites are six locations: Jeju Livestock Cooperative Association (slaughterhouse), Seogwipo Livestock Cooperative Association (processing plant), Jeju Pig Farmers Association (slaughterhouse, processing plant), Daehan F&B (processing plant), and Mont Rack (processing plant). The initial export volume is 4.5 tons of Hanwoo and pork, amounting to approximately 280 million won.
This export marks the recognition by Singapore, a country with strict livestock import standards, of the safety of Jeju Hanwoo and pork. It is the result of close cooperation between central government agencies, local governments, and the Jeju livestock industry over the past few years to diversify the livestock export market.
Since 2016, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs have been working with the Jeju Provincial Government to negotiate with Singapore authorities for the entry of Korean Hanwoo and pork into the Singapore market, striving to gain recognition of the equivalence of domestic livestock safety management and quarantine systems.
Last month, the sanitary and quarantine conditions were finalized during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Korea-Singapore summit.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "Singapore is a promising country for livestock exports with an average annual growth rate of 5.5% in the meat market," and "This export will strengthen the overall foundation of our livestock production, processing, and distribution system."