(Jeju·Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Baek Na-yong and Kim Yoon-gu = Jeju beef and pork are exported to Singapore for the first time in the country.
According to Jeju on the 2nd, the quarantine negotiations for the export of Jeju Hanwoo and pork to Singapore were completed following the summit meeting between President Lee Jae-myung and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong held at the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul.
Accordingly, Jeju has become the only region in the country to export livestock products to Singapore.
The export facilities in Jeju approved by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) include the Jeju Livestock Auction Market of the Jeju Livestock Cooperative, the Livestock Comprehensive Distribution Center of the Jeju Pork Livestock Industry Cooperative, the Sanji Meat Processing Factory of Seogwipo Livestock Cooperative, and Daehan FNB, covering the entire process from slaughter to processing.
Singapore is one of the countries with strict hygiene and quarantine standards in the world, requiring certification as a Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD)-free zone by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) as a prerequisite for importing livestock products.
Jeju obtained this certification as the only region in the country on May 29, and after an on-site inspection by the SFA from August 25 to 28, the final approval for the Jeju export facilities was received two months later.
During this process, these export facilities also significantly reinforced their hygiene facilities and systems.
Jeju viewed this as a result of the competitiveness of Jeju livestock products with a clean environment and scientific disease prevention system being proven on the international stage.
In fact, it has been confirmed that many Singapore buyers are inquiring about importing from Jeju companies.
Jeju expects that the expansion of the Jeju livestock market will begin in earnest if the first export to Singapore is successful this year.
Governor Oh Yeong-hoon said, "Jeju becoming the first and only region in the country to export livestock products to Singapore is the result of clean environment and a systematic disease prevention system, based on the cooperation between the government and the private sector," and added, "We will expand our market to the Southeast Asian premium market using Singapore as a springboard, and create a sustainable livestock ecosystem that leads to increased income for farmers."
With the conclusion of the quarantine negotiation for Singapore exports, the countries to which Hanwoo can be exported have increased to six, including Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).