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Powdered panela, specialty coffee, chocolate, meat and palm oil are the products to be exhibited by the seven companies that export from Colombia and will participate this coming Tuesday, in Seoul Food & Hotel 2012.
With the support of PROCOLOMBIA and Kotra (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency), Colombian companies will be located on the first stand from the country at the fair, which ends on May 11 at the Korean International Exhibition Center in Seoul, South Korea.
Companies Café Liofilizado Buendía, Casa Luker, C.I Tequendama (Daabon), Compañía Nacional de Chocolates, Colcafé, Doñapanela and Procesa will offer their products at the fair, one of the largest in Asia with 1,100 exhibitors from 45 countries to be visited by about 44 thousand people, including CEOs, managers, executives and administrators of manufacturing companies, marketers and distributors of the food industry.
The objective is to find a position in the food market
Casa Luker, for example, will take their chocolate coating made with fine aroma coco, a product for which they have already identified business opportunities. " We are exporting to the Korean market, but the idea is to generate greater product awareness among local consumers, as they have the benchmark of that which comes from Belgium and Southeast Asia," said Francisco Gomez, international business manager. " But they don' t have the taste and aroma of our product," he added.
According to his experience in the market, Gomez said " there is potential for the Korean consumer, as they love sweets and spending on food, and they also have the resources to do it."
C.I. Tequendama (Daabon) is also present in the market. The exporter of processed products from palm oil has an office in Japan, and this will be the second participation in Seoul. " We are going with the expectation of the FTA with Colombia because we know that Korean businessmen will be more interested in the country," said Juan Pablo Campos, director in Asia.
The company, which exports to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, United States and Canada, is targeting the niche of organic and sustainable production items. " With these certifications competition is not very high. Therefore we are going in search of new customers and exploring whether there will be Korean players and larger companies we can approach in light of the FTA."
Café Liofilizado Buendía has the same growth prospect. " They are not yet big coffee drinkers, but there are more and more consumers each day. Especially solubles are having a lot of evolution, and all organic and fairtrade related products are also important" , said Juan Jaramillo, marketing and sales coordinator.
According to information from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, with data from DANE, the Colombian agribusiness sector, South Korea exported USD$ 9.7 million during 2011, registering a growth of 61.3 percent compared to 2010.
The best selling products were derived from coffee (USD$ 5.2 million) and sugar and honeys (USD$ 1.4 million). Cocoa derivatives, oils, fats, and flowers also had a positive reception.
