Tasks for strengthening the competitiveness of the seaweed industry in South Korea

Last year, Kim, the first aquatic product to achieve exports of 1 trillion won (790 million dollars), emerged as Korea’s representative aquatic product. However, as exports increased, the problem of skyrocketing domestic Kim prices also arose. This led to the strange phenomenon of Korea importing Kim from China, which dominates the global market. Recently, concerns have been growing about the development of the Kim industry due to the climate crisis, aging of aquaculture farms, and lack of new investment by small and medium-sized businesses. While warning signals were being raised about the development of the Kim industry, the government announced the ‘Kim Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan’ at the end of last month. According to the Kim Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Plan, if we stably supply the amount needed for domestic and export demand, and improve the efficiency of processing and distribution through scale and smartization, so that Kim can become a globally ...