Bangkok – Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong has led a Thai delegation to South Korea to promote trade and boost the export of Thai food products. While in Seoul, the Thai delegates and the Commerce Minister took part in “Thailand-Korea Business Partnership 2018,” a reception attended by 65 Korean importers and entrepreneurs.
The minister took the opportunity to hand out Thailand’s Best Friend” certificates to four companies in recognition of their support for the Thai food industry.
The Thai delegation was also greeted by Myoung Jin Shin, Chairman of the Korean Importers Association (KOIMA). The two parties discussed trade cooperation between Thailand and South Korea.
Founded in 1970, KOIMA is Korea’s only private organization exclusively dedicated to facilitating imports into the country to develop its industry. The organization now has more than 8,500 members.
Afterwards, the minister and his team met with executives of Coupang, South Korea’s largest mobile e-commerce firm. Thanks to Coupang, as many as 899 Thai products worth 118 million baht were sold online to Korean consumers during the first phase of their cooperation.
As for the second phase, Thailand is asking Coupang to build an online platform called “Thai Mall” which will feature only Thai products, a move the Thai Commerce Ministry believes will boost Thai exports to Korea.
As of 2017, two-way trade between Thailand and South Korea topped 12.73 billion US dollars, meaning a 12% increase year-on-year.
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