No West Coast or individual Alaska companies have ever taken part in the expo. The state of Alaska hosted well-received booths in 2003 and 2004 in response to South Korea's growing seafood trade imbalance.

South Koreans eat more than 106 pounds of seafood per capita annually, and have generally shown little interest in wild or farmed salmon at the retail level. But South Koreans are voracious consumers of pollock and other whitefish, as well as crab and shellfish, and in every form imaginable.

“I just looked around to see if there is any progress. I'm going to decide if the Busan Seafood Expo is worth attending, then we will make a final decision next year,” said Kyung Suk Kim, Alaska's longtime trade representative in Seoul.

Since Alaska quit attending the expo, salmon has had a marginal presence, primarily as a standard item in many five-star hotel buffets.

Chilean and Norwegian salmon interests also participated in the expo in past years, but Europeans generally have also shown little interest.

Yurim Fishery Co. Ltd. annually exhibits its smoked and frozen Norwegian salmon products.

“We think the main market is later teens, women in their 30s, career women. She is our main target. They have a trend and accept new items easily and they (communicate) that fact to each other,” said Kap-Joo Kim, Yurim manager.

Potential in the market

Attendance by local traders and top-line restaurant chefs from the premier Seoul and Busan hotels remained disappointing for participants, but few complaints about market potential were heard from those representing the 27 countries participating in the Nov. 15-18 event.

“The diversity of the countries that is represented in such a small space is impressive,” said Paul Balthrop, development representative for the Florida Bureau of Seafoods and Aquaculture Marketing.

Expo participation by Atlantic Coast companies is growing steadily. The boost is aided by an export boost provided by the weakening U.S. dollar and the anticipation of double-digit decreases in import tariffs with the eventual approval of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

“The timing is perfect right now with the exchange rate and the dollar value what it is,” said Mike Hutt, international sales director for Atlantic Coast clam giant Sea Watch International Ltd. Sea Watch controls most of the U.S. Atlantic sea and surf clam quota, and annually produces more than 15 million pounds of clam strips, 400,000 cases of chowder and 45 million pounds of frozen product.

Sea Watch targeted the Korean food service, retail and manufacturing sectors at the expo with chopped canned clams. Dumplings, a traditional Korean food, are stuffed with the product, while sushi and sashimi chefs are finding convenience in Sea Watch's new sea clam prime cut, a butterfly-split product made from surf clam tongues.

Three years into its Korean market-development project, Sea Watch is finding success.

“I think we're right there, ready to break over the edge. I think we've accomplished that and we're right on the verge of being ready to take off,” Hutt said.

“It makes sense for American seafood companies to come out here,” said Lin Hwang, vice president of J&R Seafoods Inc., a first-time expo participant. “I'm sure we'll be here next year.”

Dried skate like these at a market in the east coast city of Ju Mun Jin are a popular dish that domestic harvests cannot satisfy. Korean buyers currently import from Oregon fisheries and are seeking Alaskan suppliers. Photo/Bob Tkacz/For the Journal

Hwang and Hutt said Koreans have found that Atlantic shellfish products are sweeter than those caught in Asian waters. The Korean economy is growing at a rate of better than 4 percent a year, and Hwang said buyers are ready to spend money for what they want.

“Koreans have a lot of money and they're willing to spend their money on high-quality products,” he said.

But, as others have found, Korean buyers also keep a close eye on the bottom line. “They go right to the price,” Hwang added.

Fish trade success stories

Through the expo and the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office in Seoul, some Atlantic Coast companies have worked the Korean market for nearly five years. The trade office sponsored its first pavilion at the expo two years ago. The office in Seoul also arranges one-on-one interviews for American companies with pre-qualified internationally experienced species-specific buyers.

Busan residents line up for a taste of raw tuna offered by Dongwon Food and Beverage Co. Ltd., one of Korea's largest food suppliers, at the Busan International Seafood and Fisheries Exposition, Nov. 15-18. Photo/Bob Tkacz/For the Journal

The Southeast United States Trade Association, at its fourth expo, provides its regional companies with interpreters at the show, and “branded program” grants that pay for up to 50 percent of shipping costs for expo sample products. The association also helps bring Korean buyers to the Boston Seafood Show every year to further promote the personal relationships that are part of the Korean business style.

“To introduce a new product you have to be in the market steadily for at least five years. Don't go in one year and then say it didn't work,” said Shirley Estes, the association's executive director.

The long-term work is about to pay off, she said.

The import tariff on Atlantic croaker, a major export of the region that competes with Korean croaker, will drop from 70 percent to zero on a specified and annually increasing import volume when the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement is fully ratified.

“We have companies that are ready to bring it in, importers for a long time who have been interested in it who are ready to bring it in and then we have some strong export companies from Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina who are ready to export,” Estes said.

The 20 percent tariff on Alaska salmon also disappears under terms of the free trade agreement.

Hwang, of J&R Seafoods, said processed crab meat was not a popular item during the four-day show, but claws, body meat and “butter” (intestines) from the Atlantic species, as well as whole crab, was compared favorably to Russian king crab, which is ubiquitous in seafood restaurants throughout the country.

After four years in the Korean market, Rhode Island-based Providence Bay Seafoods has built itself a niche market of products not likely to be found in most U.S. seafood cases, but are popular in Korea. These include hagfish, conch, monkfish, black sea cucumber meat and skins, dogfish and skate wings, among others.

“We just happen to have the product mix that fits here,” said Martin Vincent, Providence Bay president.

American companies that have decided to try the Korean market are working it in a big way with significant U.S. regional and federal assistance. The Florida Department of Agriculture sent its culinary ambassador, Chef Justin Patrick Timineri, to prepare gourmet samples and educate local buyers on the preparation of skate and croaker, among other species.

Korean buyers can't find any Alaskan longliners willing to catch skate, caught as by-catch in halibut and black cod longline fisheries. The Southeast United States Trade Association began a five-year effort this year with a $75,000 grant to replace depleted Korean stocks here with cow-nosed ray from the mid-Atlantic.

Korea increasing imports

Seafood companies from the rest of the world are finding broad Korean interest in their products. Selami Pakurek, head of Pakurek A.S., a Turkish company, successfully hawked its crab and farmed salmon fish cakes, marinated anchovies and dumplings stuffed with various types of seafood.

“It's good for us ... If the business starts it will go for a long time,” Pakurek said.

Korea became a net seafood importer around the turn of the century. Its long-term strategy to meet demand includes fishing fleet reductions and an artificial reef construction program to rebuild stocks. In the meantime, the country plans more imports.

“I guess there's been a shift in Korea from relying more on domestic catch to catch from international supplies, and as part of that you see that a lot of the new product that's coming in has a lot of competition from China, Southeast Asia, Thailand and Vietnam,” said Stan Phillips, the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office director based in Seoul. “You really see a lot of Southeast Asian exhibitors coming in here and the trade statistics reflect that. They're making a pretty good dent in the market.”

China is South Korea's top seafood supplier, followed by Russia, Japan and Vietnam. Total Korean seafood imports increased 16 percent in 2006 to a value of $2.77 billion from 2005, according to U.S. Commerce Department statistics.

The U.S. was the fifth largest supplier of seafood to the country in 2006 and sent 62,530 metric tons of product, valued at $150.5 million. The total is down slightly from 2005, when U.S. exports of 67,176 metric tons were valued at $152,555.

Hai Viet Corp., of Hanoi, uses its 2,000 line workers to produce artistic seafood creations, including shrimp, octopus and cuttlefish “flowers” with centers of capelin roe, among other high-value-added creations.

The Associazione Centro Studi Agora, an economic and marketing consultant for more than 100 small Sicilian seafood exporters, was another newcomer at the expo hoping to break into the Korean market with anchovies and processed tuna. “We want to taste the market,” said program manager Andrea Benigno.

Among seven exhibitors from Thailand, CPF Co. Ltd. senior vice president Viboon Supakarapongku said, “The Korean market is booming.”

The National Fisheries Authority of Papua New Guinea, which regulates and markets its country's seafood products, was on an exploratory mission to Busan.