Food ministry adds Singapore, Vietnam export rules for livestock products

South Korea's food and drug safety ministry said Thursday it has updated its export guide for livestock and other animal-based food products to reflect export terms agreed with Singapore and Vietnam, opening the way for Korean producers to ship eggs, packaged meat and heat-treated processed goods to the two markets.

Singapore will admit table eggs, packaged beef and pork from Jeju, heat-treated beef products and heat-treated egg products. Vietnam will take packaged poultry meat and processed heat-treated poultry, including chicken and duck.

The revision follows the conclusion of export negotiations with Singapore in November last year and with Vietnam in April this year.

Under an arrangement the ministry negotiated, heat-treated processed meat products other than poultry bound for Singapore can be registered first without an on-site inspection. The guide now distinguishes items eligible for priority registration from those subject to on-site inspection by country.

Other changes cover registration methods for export facilities and revised workplace approval standards in importing countries, along with heat-treatment temperatures by livestock type and product.

"With this revision, we expect domestic companies to see the export potential of a wider range of K-food and to improve their access to export markets," the ministry said. "We will continue to provide information on food exports and actively support efforts to expand exports of our livestock products."

The revised guide is available on the ministry's website under the one-stop food export information section.