Seoul clears PHL's Bounty Fresh to export chicken to South Korea

Poultry producer Bounty Fresh has been accredited by the Korean Quarantine Inspection Agency and intends to start shipping chicken to South Korea next year, the company said Wednesday.

 

It was the company's chicken farm and dressing plant in Pulilan, Bulacan that passed the inspection of Korean quarantine representatives, said Carl Chung, Bounty Fresh Food Inc. assistant vice president for operations.

 

"We are still discussing the market requirements for Korea but we guess it is more on chicken 

cuts," Chung said, noting that the shipments will likely consist of choice cuts like wing and breast as well as chicken nuggets. 

 

Exporters accredited by the QIA may actually ship their products to South Korea starting Friday, Dec.13, said Agriculture Undersecretary Ron Palad. 

 

But Bounty Fresh isn't rushing things at this point, saying it wants to focus on the domestic market for now, because of the devastation of the poultry industry in the Visayas caused by killer Typhoon Yolanda.

 

"We are now reviewing our plans for next year... the domestic market is what we are really 

looking at,” Chung said. “We would like to be able to supply the markets in affected areas also," he added. 

 

In the case of the Korean market, Chung said Bounty Fresh is now in search of distribution partners with the actual shipments calendared for 2014. "We are still looking for buyers and we may send a business delegation next year. 

 

“We can supply... supermarkets as well as hotels and restaurants," he added. 

 

"We have never exported to Korea and this is a different ball game... [and] has to be done 

from the ground up," Chung said. 

 

The company exports yakitori chicken to Japan. – VS/BM, GMA News