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NDTO News Article

North Dakota hosts trade delegations from Republic of Korea, Indonesia

A trade delegation of 30 business leaders from the Republic of Korea traveled to North Dakota Oct. 10 where they spent a week visiting a diverse group of companies with export business opportunities.

North Dakota’s Korean visitors arrived shortly after another trade delegation from Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam departed after a week-long business trip to the state.

The Korean delegation has business interests that include aviation technologies, agricultural and industrial equipment and value-added foods and environmental technologies. 

The group’s week-long schedules include tours and meetings at the Northern Crops Institute in Fargo, at area processing plants specialized in supplying domestic and foreign customers with food-grade soybeans and at the North Dakota State Mill.

“Our visiting delegation has very diversified business interests that parallel many of North Dakota’s strengths in the international marketplace,” said Jiwon Kim, a business development manager for the North Dakota Trade Office.

Since 2007, North Dakota has hosted two trade delegations from Korea. In March, 2008, Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple led a group of 25 North Dakota business leaders on a trade mission to Seoul, Korea to capitalize on growing business opportunities in the Asian country’s $1 trillion economy.

About a week before the arrival of Korean business leaders, the Trade Office concluded a reverse trade mission that consisted of 11 visitors from Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.  The group represented some of the largest soybean importers and soy foods manufacturers in Southeast Asia. 

The delegation toured area processing plants and attended business meetings with North Dakota’s producers and marketers of identity preserved, food-grade soybeans Sept. 27-Oct.2.

The week-long visit was a valuable opportunity to introduce North Dakota’s food-grade soybean companies to new buyers in a densely populated region of the world where soy-based drinks and foods are a staple in consumers’ diets, Trade Office Executive Director Dean Gorder said.