The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said on the 10th that it attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Korean agricultural machinery exclusive industrial complex" in Cabanatuan, the Philippines, and discussed ways to expand cooperation on agricultural machinery between the two countries. The creation of this exclusive complex is being pursued as the Philippine government pushes agricultural mechanization and Korea's agricultural machinery industry advances a strategy to expand exports to Southeast Asia.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Minister Kim Jeong-uk for Agricultural Innovation Policy, Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Sang-hwa, and Kim Sin-gil, chair of the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative.
The exclusive complex will be built on a 60,000-pyeong (about 198,347 square meters) site in Cabanatuan, the Philippines. Korean corporations will establish agricultural machinery manufacturing plants in stages from next year through 2034. The Philippine government will support site leasing and the development of infrastructure such as roads, electricity, telecommunications, and water, and will provide exemptions from tariff and local government tax. The ministry said, "It will broaden the foundation for Korean agricultural machinery corporations to enter Southeast Asia and contribute to improving the Philippines' agricultural productivity."
Korean agricultural machinery exports to Southeast Asia are in the 4% range, but the growth is clear. Exports increased more than 40%, from $37 million in 2023 to $52 million last year. Among them, the Philippines is a major market, accounting for 60% of exports to Southeast Asia.
The agricultural machinery industry plans to use the Philippines-only complex as an export base to diversify an export structure concentrated in North America. As of last year, 73% of Korea's agricultural machinery exports were concentrated in North America.
Deputy Minister Kim Jeong-uk said, "The Korean government will also work with the Philippine government to ensure the stable entry of corporations," adding, "We ask the Philippine government to actively support Korean corporations so they do not face difficulties during the complex's creation and operation."