Signature of a co-operation agreement between Vitagora and Foodpolis

October 25, 2010 Vitagora Taste-Nutrition-Health is strengthening ties with Foodpolis, the national agri-food cluster of South Korea.

On October 20th, Pierre Guez, president of Vitagora, represented by Christophe Breuillet, managing director of Vitagora, and Bum-gook GWAK, managing director of the MINISTRY OF FOOD, AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY & FISHERIES of South Korea, signed a co-operation agreement at the SIAL trade show. This agreement defines the intention of the two clusters to develop exchanges between the agri-food and health sectors of the two countries.

The SIAL 2010 trade fair (Salon International de l'Alimentation) was held from October 17th to 21st in Villepinte and received visitors from across the world, including a number of delegations from Asia. South Korea was represented by a delegation lead by Foodpolis, an emerging agri-food cluster initiated by the South Korean government with an investment of nearly 362 million euros.

That Foodpolis has chosen Vitagora as its first European partner is a sign of the excellent image of the French agri-food sector across its borders. This agreement is also a result of the promotion of regional capabilities on an international scale carried out by Vitagora since 2008. As illustrated by the R&D projects developed by Vitagora's members, the cluster's dynamic companies and innovative laboratories are now benefitting from new openings.

This first partnership agreement for Vitagora with South Korea represents an opportunity for agri-food SMEs of the two countries to find partners in a country where commercial exchanges are being slated to increase. This week, European Union and South Korean decision makers signed an historic free-trade agreement, the first between Europe and an Asian country. South Korea is 8th most important trade partner of the EU and exchanges are increasing by a rate of 7.5% per year since 2004. The removal in 2011 of customs barriers between the two zones will offer an opportunity to SMEs to increase exports towards a country with an increasing demand for French products.

Contact
Marthe Jewell : Tél. 03 80 78 97 92
Fax. 03 80 78 97 95, Mobile : 06 60 65 87 16
Email : marthe.jewell@vitagora.com

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