Since 2018, the National Support Centre for Agriculture has organised the Polish national stand at Seoul Food & Hotel in South Korea under the “Poland tastes good” banner. During this year’s edition, held on 9-12 June 2026, 19 entrepreneurs promoted food and beverages from Poland at the national stand.
Under the “Poland tastes good” banner, Polish companies presented to potential partners from Korea and other Asian countries a broad range of Polish food products. The KOWR stand promoted, among others, sweets (biscuits, fudges, wafer rolls, pralines, chocolates, jellies, halva), salty snacks, milk and dairy products, milk powders, cold meats and meat products, poultry meat, NFC and organic juices, freeze-dried fruit and vegetables, honey with freeze-dried fruit, sturgeon caviar and fish products, groats and cereal products, cereal-, chicory- and herb-based beverages, drinks and snacks for athletes, and semi-finished products for the food industry.
On the first day of the fair, the national stand was visited by representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Seoul, including Ambassador Bartosz Wiśniewski, as well as Karolina Florek, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer. The guests and Tomasz Ciodyk, Deputy Director General of KOWR, held talks with the Polish entrepreneurs exhibiting at the stand.
The Korean Seoul Food & Hotel fair is the largest and most important event for the food and hotel industry in South Korea. Polish entrepreneurs and industry organisations have participated in the Seoul fair as exhibitors for many years. The strong presence of Polish food products at the fair confirms the considerable interest of Polish companies in the Korean market.
Polish accents were also strongly visible at several other stands at the Seoul fair. Industry organisations promoted food on the Korean market at stands under CAP mechanism programmes “Support for promotional and information activities on selected agricultural product markets”:
- “A Drop of European Milk and High-Quality Dairy Products” – a three-year programme implemented by the Polish Federation of Cattle Breeders and Dairy Farmers since April 2025 in the markets of South Korea and Vietnam, promoting milk and dairy products, including cheese;
- “European Poultry – from Our Farms to Your Table” – a three-year programme implemented by the National Poultry Council – Chamber of Commerce since February 2025 in the markets of the
Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, promoting poultry meat (fresh, chilled and frozen) and its preparations;
- “EU Good Food – Good Life” – a three-year multi-country programme implemented by the Union of Producers and Employers of the Meat Industry in cooperation with producers from Greece since March 2025 in the markets of the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, promoting pork, beef, canned peaches and fresh kiwi fruit.
Due to a shortage of arable land, Korea is a significant importer of food, primarily meat (pork and beef), cereals, fish and seafood, as well as various processed foods. Trade with South Korea has been facilitated by the free trade agreement between Korea and the EU, which eliminated most customs duties, including on agricultural products. Seoul Food & Hotel is an excellent platform for Korean importers and distributors to discover premium food from around the world and new trends in the food industry, and for Polish companies it is an opportunity to present our broad, high-quality and attractively priced offer.
In 2025, Poland achieved a record level of exports of agri-food products to South Korea. The total export value amounted to EUR 109.63 million, compared with EUR 93.02 million in 2024. Between 2019 and 2025, exports to Korea increased by approximately 101%, with an average annual growth rate of around 12%. South Korea remains one of the more dynamic non-EU destinations for Polish food sales. In 2025, exports to Korea were dominated by the following product categories:
- dairy products: 34%;
- meat, offal and meat preparations, mainly pork: 6%;
- potato starch: 2%;
- beer: 7.5%;
- confectionery: 9%.
