The Korea International Trade Association, a major export promoting agency in Seoul, held a three-day event in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, to help Korean seafood exporters make inroads into halal markets, officials said Monday.

The event jointly held with the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, is a part of a series of promotional events designed to introduce Korean food overseas. Since August, KITA has held events in Chengdu and Shanghai in China and New York in the US, to provide opportunities for Korean food exporters seeking global expansion.

The Jakarta event that ended Sunday was carefully planned for Korean seafood exporters who have been struggling to enter the halal market. 

In partnership with Korean retailers already doing business in the largely Muslim country, KITA held business consulting sessions between Korean exporters and local buyers and offered cooking shows to attract interest from local consumers for quality Korean food.

A total of 33 local buyers participated in the event, holding separate consulting sessions with 12 Korean seafood exporters, the agency said.

“The K-Seafood promotional event may have helped improve local customers’ awareness on Korean seafood as well as the importance of the halal market for Korean exporters that participated in the event,” said Kwon Do-keom, head of KITA’s Jakarta office.

“We will pursue follow-up measures to produce tangible results, including helping (Korean exporters) win halal certificates.”

Halal food is produced or processed under Islamic dietary guidelines. The potential of the market is promising, as it is expected to grow to $1.62 trillion in 2018 from $1.08 trillion in 2012, according to a recent report. But Korean food companies have faced difficulties in exporting their products to the Middle East and other Islamic countries due to a lack of market information and low recognition of Korean brands in the regions.

KITA also plans to invite about 40 seafood buyers from around the world to a K-Seafood expo in the southern port city of Busan on Oct. 27, as well as a separate event in Tehran, Iran, in November.

By Song Ji-won (jiwon.song@heraldcorp.com)