KOTRA supports entry into Southeast Asian and Brazilian markets for small and medium-sized export companies damaged by the prolonged war in the Middle East

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Chang-yong = The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) is providing support for the development of alternative markets for domestic small and medium-sized export companies suffering from a decline in exports and a surge in logistics costs due to the prolongation of the Middle East war.

KOTRA announced on the 28th that it will cooperate with the global distribution platform 'Shopee' to carry out a comprehensive export logistics support project to help companies with export records in the Middle East enter the Southeast Asian and Central and South American markets.

Until now, domestic small and medium-sized export companies have had difficulty entering the market due to high local delivery fees when selling products on overseas sites or difficult paperwork and local warehouse storage to be recognized as official exports.

To solve this problem, KOTRA supports participating small and medium-sized businesses by matching 70% of their business costs (50% for mid-sized companies) with the national treasury.

Companies operating in five countries in Southeast Asia will be allowed to use local Shopee warehouses, and courier fees for delivery from the warehouse to local consumers' homes will be supported up to 24 million won per trade center. We also provide up to KRW 24 million in assistance to companies entering Brazil with difficult local hygiene certifications, customs clearance, and warehouse delivery costs.

Applications for the Southeast Asia support project are closed and will begin immediately, and the Brazil support project will recruit participating companies on the KOTRA Trade Investment 24 website until the 2nd of next month.

KOTRA CEO Kang Kyeong-seong said that this new project is a market diversification support project that takes advantage of the global K-consumer goods craze for companies facing major difficulties in export logistics due to the unexpected war in the Middle East, and that he will support Korean companies to become global sellers.