The Exports of the First Batch of Korean Melons Started Their Entry into the Vietnamese Market

Sejong, 8 May 2025 — The exports of the first batch of Korean melons started their entry into the market of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in March 2025 since the Republic of Korea and Vietnam reached an agreement in quarantine negotiations on the exports of Korean melons in July 2024.

The export having been made possible is a significant achievement made in 17 years since the Korean government started its quarantine negotiations with the Vietnamese government in 2008. This year has seen 33 tonnes of Korean melons having been exported to Vietnam. Korean melons produced in Seongju-gun in Gyeongsangbuk-do are expected to increase sharply in exports to Vietnam, with the help of a supply agreement with a local big-box store, a contract on in-flight food supply with a Vietnamese airline, etc. In South Korea, “gun” is an administrative unit corresponding to a county below a city, and “do” refers to a province.

Amid a growing uncertainty of the international trading environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) of the Republic of Korea selected 11 major export items for quarantine negotiations in March 2025—other export items are also subjects of quarantine negotiations in 2025—to expand the entry of exports of Korean agricultural and livestock products into overseas markets. Those export items include sweet persimmons, Korean tangerines, kiwis, hanwoo beef, heat-treated pork, etc.

Minister Song Miryung of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We will make the utmost effort to expand the export markets for Korean agricultural and livestock products by taking advantage of strategic quarantine negotiations with our trading partners.”