THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) organized the Philippines’s participation to the Seoul International Seafood Show 2019 held from April 22 to 24, 2019, at Coex, Seoul, South Korea.

Helping organize the country’s participation to the event were the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Seoul, the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), and the ASEAN-Korea Center.

ASEAN Ambassadors and dignitaries from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam graced the ASEAN Pavilion. Philippine Ambassador Raul Hernandez and Commercial Counselor Jose Ma. Dinsay represented the Philippine delegation during the opening.

A variety of Philippine seafood products from nine companies were promoted during the show, including fresh chilled tuna; fresh frozen octopus, shrimp, milkfish; dried fish; canned sardines, crab meat; bottled milkfish, sardines; and traditional Filipino sauce condiments, such as shrimp paste, shrimp fry, bagoong and fish sauce, among other products.

The show served as a venue to foster the Philippines as a reliable supplier of high-quality seafood products and introduce the country’s seafood-based sauces and condiments to the Korean market.

To take advantage of the Philippines’s existing free-trade agreements, the participants also attended Korea Customs Service’s Seminar on Asean-Korea Free Trade Agreement and Customs Clearance Procedures at the sidelines of the show.

The Philippines’s successful participation to the Seoul International Seafood Show 2019 generated trade leads for the exhibitors which even exceeded its target sales by more than 100 percent.

The DTI-EMB and Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) expressed gratitude to the ASEAN-Korea Center for giving the Philippine exporters the opportunity to showcase Filipino seafood products at the Seoul International Seafood Show 2019.

“As the Philippines continues to take part in trade opportunities to increase trade relations with South Korea, the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau would like to express its gratitude to the ASEAN-Korea Center for this initiative and collaboration in giving the Philippine exporters the opportunity to showcase and promote Philippine seafood products at the Seoul International Seafood Show 2019,” DTI-EMB Assistant Director Anthony B. Rivera said.

In 2018, the Philippines exported $23.51 million worth of seafood products to Korea.