Processed K-chicken products enter Vietnamese market for first time; Harim to export around 70 tonnes by next year

[Financial News] Samgyetang and dakgangjeong, iconic Korean nourishing dishes and leading K-food offerings, are among the “processed K-chicken products” now being exported to Vietnam for the first time ever.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, a shipment ceremony for K-chicken products bound for Vietnam was held on the 21st at Harim Co., Ltd.’s plant in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. This is the first time domestic processed poultry products—which had been unable to overcome barriers to the Vietnamese market because of strict hygiene and quarantine regulations—will be officially distributed there.
This is a follow-up measure to the sanitary and quarantine agreement on heat-treated poultry meat reached in connection with the Korea-Vietnam summit in April. It is the result of government agencies, including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), pursuing active regulatory diplomacy, along with industry stakeholders such as domestic broiler farmers and exporters joining forces. They laid the groundwork on the ground, including registering products locally, securing distribution networks and building a stable supply chain for high-quality broiler chickens, achieving tangible results.
Processed chicken products include samgyetang, nuggets and dakgangjeong. They are a promising export category, with exports reaching KRW 24.8 billion as of August, up 39.5% from a year earlier. Harim Co., Ltd., the exporter, plans to ship an initial batch of about 2 metric tons of processed chicken products within the year, then export a total of around 70 metric tons to Vietnam by next year. The value of those exports is estimated at about KRW 700 million.
Vietnam is a key Southeast Asian market where interest in K-food is high and the population surpassed 100 million last year. It is a promising export destination where consumption of processed meat products is rising amid rapid economic growth and changing consumer trends.
Vietnam’s meat market grew from $7.7 billion in 2020 to $11 billion in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 9.6%.
The government plans to support measures such as expanding processing facilities and strengthening local marketing to help boost exports of K-chicken products to Southeast Asia.
In addition to processed chicken products, export negotiations with Vietnam for other livestock products, including Korean beef and heat-treated pork, are also set to accelerate, building on the Korea-Vietnam memorandum of understanding (MOU) on quarantine cooperation signed in connection with the summit.
Food and Drug Safety Minister Oh Yu-kyung said, “This export is a meaningful achievement, as the conclusion of the sanitary and quarantine negotiations has led to tangible export results for our companies. We will continue to strengthen regulatory cooperation with export destination countries to support K-food’s expansion overseas and enhance its global competitiveness.”
[email protected] Kim Seo-yeon Reporter