The ROK Expands an Entry of Its Agricultural Inputs into the Middle East, Including the UAE

Sejong, 21 September 2025 — The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) will send a Korean export delegation—consisting of 12 Korean exporters of agricultural machinery, equipment, and other inputs—to Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For a period of 22–26 September, the delegation will showcase quality Korean-made agricultural inputs to prospective buyers there and help develop a market for Korean exports. 

The agricultural input exporters consist of agricultural machinery makers, agricultural materials and equipment makers, fertilizer producers, eco-friendly agricultural materials producers, and animal feed producers. 

Since 2018, the MAFRA has been sending an export delegation overseas to provide opportunities for Korean exporters of agricultural inputs to enter overseas markets and increase their exports. To this end, the MAFRA has provided business support in diverse aspects such as meetings with local government officials, holding a buyers-exporters meeting, investigation of the latest local market trends, etc.

In June 2025, a Korean export delegation to the Kingdom of Thailand had buyers-exporters meetings about exports worth USD 21.6 million and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) worth USD 2.3 million. 

The UAE is implementing its national food security strategies proactively, despite environmental constraints by the desert climate. The agricultural market value of the UAE is forecast to reach USD 4.1 billion in 2030, up by an annual average of 4.5% from USD 3.3 billion in 2025. As the nation’s food security issue has become more important after the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for smart farms and hydroponics is growing fast as well. 

On 24 September, the MAFRA will hold a one-on-one buyers-exporters meeting for export (K-AgroEx), where 12 Korean companies will sit together with 25 prospective overseas buyers not only from the UAE but also from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar, and the Republic of Ghana.

On 25 and 26 September, the export delegation will visit SGS United Arab Emirates—a company of providing services for testing, inspection, and certification—to obtain information on the UAE’s regulations and procedures related to importing agricultural machinery, equipment, and inputs. The delegation will also visit distribution companies and large-sized farms owned by local buyers to understand local distribution structures, demand for Korean products, and other aspects of the UAE market. 

Meanwhile, the MAFRA will continue to support the development of overseas markets to help increase the exports of Korean agricultural machinery, equipment, and inputs by holding a buyers-exporters meeting for export in Korea, opening exhibition booths for Korean companies at international trade fairs overseas, and sending export delegations abroad. 

Director-General KIM Jung Wook of the MAFRA’s Agri-food Innovation Policy Bureau said: “I hope that the dispatch of the Korean export delegation to the UAE will serve as a valued opportunity for the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates to expand exchanges and trade in terms of agricultural inputs.”