Korean food to reach more U.S. stores

SEOUL, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run farm trading company said
Monday it has signed a deal with a U.S.-based importer to provide Korean
foodstuffs and agricultural products.

The deal reached between Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. (aT Center) and Rhee
Bros. Inc. in New Jersey is expected to allow local farm and processed food
products to be sold throughout the United States.
Rhee Bros. is a dedicated food importer that has ties with 1,700 food retailers
and operates 13 Asian supermarkets. It imports and distributes Korean, Japanese,
Chinese and Hispanic food products.
"The agreement is expected to make it easier for Korean food to reach the growing
Hispanic community, which has been attracted to spicy food shipped from South
Korea," an aT Center official said.
He added that talks are underway to export locally grown pears, grapes and bell
peppers to the large U.S. market.
The official said that, in the past, exports to the United States have been
centered on meeting the demand of Koreans living in the country, which limited
market size.
The U.S. market for Korean food stood at US$413 million in the first 11 months of
this year. This makes it the third largest export destination after Japan and
China.
Exports of farm and food products to Japan reached $1.4 billion, while those to
China topped $489 million.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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