As reported by MFDS, Lee Eui-Kyung, minister of MFDS signed the "South Korea-Australia E-Sanitation Certificate Service Agreement" with the Australian Government Department of Agriculture in Canberra on June 24th, 2019.
Agreement Content
introduce the E-Sanitation Certificate System for bilateral trade (including livestock products)
to use blockchain technology flexibly and accelerate the exchange on E-Sanitation Certificate System technology
to expand the applicable category scope
After being effective, it will become much easier for enterprises to submit sanitation certificate materials, etc. online instead of submitting written documentation to authorities in South Korea or Australia.
Programme in the next few years
MFDS intends to establish the e-system between the two countries before the end of 2019.
Starting from 2020, MFDS will implement a trial version of the E-sanitation system for meat product (beef and pork) certificates
Then in 2021, South Korea will initiate the E-Sanitation certificate system on all livestock products from Australia.
The two countries are also planning to apply this E-sanitation system to other food categories.
In future, South Korea will also try to cooperate with other countries on this E-sanitation certificate system.
Top 10 exporters to South Korea 2018, ranked by volume (source: MFDS report)
Australia ranks second place among all the exporters to South Korea in terms of total volume of exports.
| Ranking | Country | Piece of goods | Volume (tons) | Value (thousand dollars) |
| 1 | USA | 100,495 | 4,671,935 | 6,432,042 |
| 2 | Australia | 29,696 | 3,110,557 | 2,401,346 |
| 3 | China | 191,138 | 3,057,002 | 4,773,416 |
| 4 | Russia | 9,867 | 1,058,305 | 980,549 |
| 5 | Thailand | 33,180 | 772,139 | 838,412 |
| 6 | Brazil | 7,568 | 750,287 | 613,621 |
| 7 | Vietnam | 30,423 | 614,685 | 1,341,201 |
| 8 | Canada | 10,996 | 473,079 | 593,848 |
| 9 | the Philippines | 7,155 | 454,475 | 436,232 |
| 10 | Germany | 22,703 | 303,325 | 809,341 |
Main imports from Australia to South Korea 2018, by volume
| Ranking | Category | Tons | Ranking | Category | Tons |
| 1 | Raw material | 1,456,552 | 6 | Corn | 55,797 |
| 2 | Wheat | 1,053,636 | 7 | Potato | 20,154 |
| 3 | Beef | 209,633 | 8 | Lamb | 15,608 |
| 4 | Barley | 142,313 | 9 | Oats | 12,488 |
| 5 | Sea salt | 56,472 | 10 | Rice | 10,000 |
Main exports from South Korea to Australia 2018, by volume
| Ranking | Category | Tons | Ranking | Category | Tons |
| 1 | Ramen | 5,624 | 6 | Golden needle mushroom | 1,820 |
| 2 | Cereal processed products | 2,264 | 7 | Other seasoning products | 1,422 |
| 3 | Beer | 2,193 | 8 | Fermented milk | 1,357 |
| 4 | Mixed prepared food | 2,019 | 9 | Water | 1,323 |
| 5 | Other bakery products | 1,859 | 10 | Gelatin | 1,179 |
We provide full-scale global food market entry services (including product registration, ingredient review, regulatory consultation, customized training, market research, branding strategy). Please contact us to discuss how we can help you by 
