South Korea seeks imports of Vietnamese lychees, passion fruit, pushes for market access expansion

On the sidelines of the APEC Food Security Ministers’ Meeting, South Korea’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) Song Miryung and Vietnam’s Acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment Tran Duc Thang held candid discussions focused on concrete measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in agriculture, rural development, and agri-trade.

Minister Song opened the meeting by recalling her visit to Vietnam in March, where she toured Hai Duong Province, joined carrot harvesting activities, tasted fresh carrot juice, and met with local farmers. She expressed a desire to deepen cooperation through regular high-level exchanges.

Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang, who at the time was Party Secretary of Hai Duong and unable to receive her in person, congratulated Minister Song on successfully chairing the APEC Food Security Ministers’ Meeting, especially the morning session held earlier the same day. He also appreciated South Korea’s warm reception of the Vietnamese delegation.

Noting the two countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership and more than three decades of close ties, Acting Minister stressed Vietnam’s commitment to further advancing cooperation, highlighting South Korea’s position as Vietnam’s largest investor and a key trade partner.

Minister Song said South Korea would connect businesses if Vietnam identified promising sectors. She noted that South Korea regularly hosts exhibitions and seminars linking producers with importers, citing a Vietnamese business delegation’s participation in an April trade fair, an upcoming food exhibition in Vietnam this August with 32 South Korean companies, and the K-Food Fair in November featuring a strong Korean presence.

She also recalled last year’s agreement to open markets for South Korean melons and Vietnamese pomelos, and expressed particular interest in importing Vietnamese lychees and passion fruit. She proposed exchanging these for South Korean unshu mandarins and kiwifruit, and called for expedited market access for processed chicken products on both sides.

Acting Minister Thang welcomed the proposal, pledging to instruct his ministry’s technical departments to work with MAFRA within the year to review potential items for market opening. He emphasized Vietnam’s ongoing administrative reforms, especially for goods from South Korea, to ensure the most favorable conditions. He also suggested adding processed chicken (procedures already completed and pending notification) and certain livestock products to the priority list.

To institutionalize cooperation, the Acting Minister proposed establishing an annual dialogue mechanism between the two ministries to address barriers and advance joint projects. He also sought South Korean support for an early launch of the sesame value chain enhancement project. 

Minister Song responded that she would engage Korean enterprises on the matter, particularly in processing and seed supply.

Praising the effective implementation of South Korea’s ODA projects in Vietnam, Mr. Thang encouraged Korean agricultural investment, taking advantage of the August and November trade fairs. He also invited South Korean businesses to the newly inaugurated Vietnamese exhibition center, ranked among the world’s top ten in size, technology, and facilities.

Minister Song affirmed South Korea’s commitment to partnering with Vietnam in agricultural and rural development.

Acting Minister Thang highlighted the vast untapped cooperation potential between the two ministries and expressed interest in joint initiatives on smart agriculture and artificial intelligence—topics discussed at the APEC meeting. He also proposed learning from South Korea’s successful Saemaul Undong rural development movement and called for continued ODA support, including grants and concessional loans, to improve Vietnam’s rural infrastructure.

He suggested formulating a 2026–2030 Action Plan to structure these efforts, with each ministry’s international cooperation department as a focal point. He hoped to personally welcome Minister Song to Vietnam’s exhibition center shortly.

Minister Song reiterated that upgrading bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership called for even closer collaboration between the two ministries to enhance the value and effectiveness of cooperation.

Acting Minister Tran Duc Thang voiced confidence that agricultural and rural development cooperation between Vietnam and South Korea would reach new heights under Minister Song's guidance.