Harim ships first Korean chicken products to Vietnam under April summit deal

South Korea's food and drug safety ministry said Wednesday that Harim has begun exporting heat-treated chicken products to Vietnam, the first such shipments under a sanitary and quarantine agreement reached at an April summit between the two countries.

The first consignment was loaded at Harim's plant in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. Harim plans to ship about 2 tons this year and a total of roughly 70 tons, worth 700 million won ($527,108), by the end of next year.

The April agreement on heat-treated meat opened one of Southeast Asia's fastest-growing meat markets to Korean poultry processors. Vietnam's meat market grew from $7.7 billion in 2020 to $11 billion in 2024, an average annual expansion of 9.6 percent, and its population passed 100 million in 2025.

Korean chicken product exports reached 24.8 billion won ($18.7 million) in the first eight months of 2026, up 39.5 percent from a year earlier, as processors widened their range beyond whole chickens for samgyetang to nuggets and other seasoned products.

"The government plans to actively support the expansion of K-chicken processed products into Southeast Asia by increasing the number of certified processing plants and strengthening local marketing," Agriculture Minister Song Miryung said in a statement.

Song said Seoul would also push to speed up negotiations on beef and heat-treated pork exports to Vietnam, building on a quarantine cooperation memorandum signed at the summit.

Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyung, who attended the loading ceremony, said the shipment showed that concluding the sanitary and quarantine talks had produced a concrete export result for Korean companies.