Talks on the elimination of barriers to Polish meat exports to South Korea and Vietnam were the most important objective of the mission of a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in those two countries. The Polish delegation was led by Secretary of State Lech Kołakowski. He was accompanied by the chief veterinarian Paweł Niemczuk.

In the Republic of Korea, the delegation of the Polish Ministry of Agriculture was received by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Jae-Kwon and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Areas Kim In-Joong.

During meetings with representatives of the Korean administration, Deputy Minister Kołakowski pointed to the need to intensify cooperation in agriculture between Poland and the Republic of Korea.

“The Republic of Korea is an important partner for Poland, with which Poland shares a strategic partnership. Cooperation in agricultural matters should be as important and effective an element of the dialogue between our countries as defence or energy issues”, emphasised Lech Kołakowski.

Referring to the ongoing work on the elimination of barriers to trade in agricultural goods, Deputy Minister Kolakowski pointed to the need for urgent completion of access procedures, so that exports of poultry, pork, and beef from Poland to Korea can begin soon. He also asked the Koreans to reduce these procedures to the necessary minimum.

The Korean authorities have accepted model health certificates for pork and poultry meat exported to the Republic of Korea. Exports will be allowed after approval of Polish plants by the Koreans.

The main topic of the meetings with Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture Phung Duc Tien and representatives of the National Assembly of Vietnam was the continuation of access arrangements. They started in 2022, during the 1st meeting of the Polish-Vietnamese working group on agricultural cooperation.

Since last year, Poland has seen clear progress in its work to open the Vietnamese market to Polish beef, goose and duck meat.