Vice Minister Lee Byeong-gweon of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the 2nd visited Agricultural Corporation Morning Farm in Jeongeup, North Jeolla, and Agricultural Corporation Global Clam in Gochang County, saying the ministry would support local corporations so they can grow into export corporations.
The visit was arranged to meet local corporations that are pioneering overseas markets with products using regional specialties and to encourage their results. Officials also heard about growth tasks for expanding overseas sales channels and difficulties caused by heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Agricultural Corporation Morning Farm is a local corporation that directly cultivates and processes organic blueberries for export and is a long-standing small business in its second generation of succession. Agricultural Corporation Global Clam is commercializing high-quality short-neck clams from the Gochang mudflats in a form that allows long-term preservation to target the Korean American market in the United States.
On the day, the Vice Minister met with Yang Jae-young, CEO of Morning Farm, and Han Seung-woo, CEO of Global Clam, to hear about the trial and error and success strategies experienced in the export field. They also discussed support measures such as developing export-only products, overseas marketing support, and branding for local products.
In addition, they toured Morning Farm's blueberry orchard and processing facilities and examined the freeze-drying and distribution process for short-neck clams harvested from Global Clam's mudflats. The Vice Minister noted it was an "excellent example of combining local resources and ideas to open global sales channels."