Trade Minister chairs bioeconomy conference to discuss BEPA

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn chaired a conference on May 3 at K-SURE in Seoul for Government-industry discussions on trade assistance measures for Korea's biochemical and bioenergy sectors, with a view to nurture Korea into a global bioeconomy powerhouse.

Representatives of nine bioeconomy firms and relevant associations attended the conference, including CJ CheilJedang, Samyang Innochem, SK EcoPrime and Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Trade Minister Ahn started by stating that international solidarity and cooperation are most important in accelerating Korea's transition into a bioeconomy and maximizing the benefits. In this regard, the Korean government is preparing to enter the world's first international Bio Economy Partnership Agreement (BEPA), which will include measures to strengthen domestic firms' global bio competitiveness through technological innovation platforms and supply chain stabilization.

Participating firms highlighted that trade policies play a critical role in nurturing Korea into a leading bioeconomy, and proposed a wide range of opinions on the Government-led strategy for the BEPA.

Biochemical firms stressed that it is necessary to establish a stable bio supply chain via collaboration with countries rich in resources and raw materials. Bioenergy firms pointed out that customs issues occur frequently in the process of importing biomass raw materials, and emphasized that systemic support is important for facilitating customs clearance. Another opinion offered was that export markets should be secured in advance for future bioplastic export, as domestic bio firms are currently leading the world in areas of fermentation technology and strain development.

Trade Minister Ahn remarked that preparations for the BEPA negotiations will focus on ways to resolve the specific problems raised by firms during this conference.