South Korea Gains Approval to Export Heat-Treated Poultry Products to Vietnam

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has secured approval to export heat-treated poultry food products to Vietnam, the government said Thursday. The approval allows exports of processed poultry items, such as ham, sausages and samgyetang, or traditional Korean ginseng chicken soup, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The agreement was reached on the sidelines of a bilateral summit between President Lee Jae Myung and To Lam, Vietnam's president and general secretary of the Communist Party, in Hanoi. The two sides had been in talks since 2017 to open the Vietnamese market to Korean poultry-based processed foods. Initially, two domestic processing facilities operated by Harim Co., South Korea's largest poultry-processing company, and CJ CheilJedang Co. have been approved by Vietnamese authorities. The government said it plans to continue consultations with Vietnam to expand the number of eligible exporters. Vietnam, with a population exceeding 100 million, is a key consumer market in Southeast Asia, with its meat market estimated at around US$11 billion. "The conclusion of export negotiations with Vietnam is a prime example of how the ministry's regulatory diplomacy and global food safety policies have translated into tangible export results," Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyoung said.