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NMC-CREES sees future local food export to Korea
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Posted on May 25 2009
Northern Marianas College-Cooperative Research Extension and Education Services is looking at the possibility of exporting local food products to South Korea in the future following a recent visit to agricultural facilities there.
Dr. In-Young Lee led a five-man team on a six-day tour of modern food processing facilities in Korea from May 11 to 16. The team also included NMC-CREES director Ross Manglona, agricultural consultant Isidoro Cabrera, and Dr. Dilip Nandwani and Felix Calvo.
The fact-finding tour included food processing, value-added produce, food safety systems, crop production, and the use of scientific techniques.
The team had a chance to visit the National Academy of Agriculture Science of the Korean Rural Development Administration and the Small Business Incubation Center.
“We were able to see high levels of technology such as using gamma rays to process their food exports but we cannot yet use that here because it is too expensive,” said Cabrera.
He said the best method that can be applied in the CNMI is fumigation, which is less expensive.
“We are really looking at the possibility of exporting our local products using fumigation rather than the highly advanced scientific methods,” Cabrera said.
The local foods, he said, could be fresh foods or other locally grown agricultural products that can be processed for exports like grape juice or wine.
The team also visited the Dae-Jeon Agricultural Trade Center and the Korea Advanced Radiation Technology Institute.
They also toured the seafood market of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, the Young-Dong University Regional Bio-renovation Center and Grape Juice and Wine Manufacturing Facilities, and the Commercial Gamma Irradiation Facility.
Last month, NMC-CREES officials and staff toured several major agricultural facilities in Metro Manila and the provinces of Laguna and Leyte in the Philippines for a similar purpose.
