Korea secures global regulatory foothold for agricultural exports

Korea has secured a pivotal diplomatic and regulatory victory at the United Nations food standards body, clearing a major hurdle to establish a global benchmark for its booming seaweed export industry.

At the 49th Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) general assembly held in Switzerland, a unified global standard for "gim" — the dried, roasted and seasoned seaweed sheets that have captured global snack markets — successfully passed its mid-level review.

The breakthrough brings Seoul closer to its target of $1.8 billion in annual seaweed exports by 2030.

For years, the absence of a universal Codex standard forced Korean exporters to navigate a chaotic patchwork of varying national regulations.

This regulatory fragmentation imposed severe financial and logistical burdens on a country that commands more than 70 percent of the global seaweed trade.

The newly advanced draft systematically codifies and classifies dried, roasted and seasoned varieties, sets strict quality baselines and regulates the mixing ratios of other local marine plants.

Beyond lowering non-tariff trade barriers, the ...