ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 25. Kazakhstan has the potential to enhance exports to South Korea for 90 processed commodities worth more than $1 billion, said the First Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ayzhan Bizhanova at a meeting with the Minister of Trade of the Republic of Korea Ahn Duk-geun, Trend reports.
As she pointed out, they are commodities from the metallurgical, petrochemical, food, chemical, and construction industries.
"Exports account for a sizable portion of our trade turnover, and we want to diversify our export basket. An agricultural expo was conducted in the city of Suncheon in October of this year, and Kazakhstan's products were in high demand. Korean entrepreneurs were particularly interested in confectionary and beverages. In general, we can raise food business exports from $10 million to $115 million," she said.
In turn, Minister Ahn Duk-geun noted the need for further cooperation in various areas of industry, including construction, energy, and digitalization.
The parties agreed on further close cooperation.
Korea is one of the highest priority trade, economic and investment partners of Kazakhstan.
Mutual trade turnover climbed 2.3 times to $6.1 billion at the end of last year.
Kazakhstan-Korea commerce totaled $4.6 billion in the first eight months of 2023, up 10.7 percent over the same period in 2022 ($4.2 billion).
Korean companies have invested approximately $9 billion in Kazakhstan's economy. South Korea is one of the top ten significant investors in Kazakhstan.