Korean link promotes ginseng as flagship health product

Choi Jung Ki, chief representative of aT Centre Hanoi

Many industry experts in oriental medicine and the functional foods area attended the seminar and delivered important presentations about the use of ginseng to improve health. Besides this, the seminar also provided recently published scientific information to better shape participants' understanding of the superiority of Korean ginseng.

“Korean ginseng is a valuable medicinal herb which is recognised all over the world. We always wish that more and more Vietnamese could access high-quality ginseng products made from the best quality ginseng rootstocks,” said Choi Jung Ki, chief representative of aT Centre Hanoi.

Ginseng, with its bitter taste and nontoxicity, is a rare herbal medicine. It helps both improve mental and physical health thanks to important organic compounds such as Germanium and Glycoside Panaxin, along with vitamins B1, B2 as well as fatty acids like panmitic, streari, linoleic, and axitamin.

In particular, ginseng greatly benefits brain development, mental and intellectual development, boosts the immune system, supports cancer treatment, and helps aging prevention. Additionally, this medicinal herb can also be used to treat patients with anemia and a number of diseases, including gastritis, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary.

According to Pham Hung Cung, vice president of the Vietnam Association of Functional Foods, ginseng, and Korean ginseng in particular, is a medicine product that the Vietnamese have been using for years because of its health advantages.

“With the presence of various types of Korean ginseng through the official distributor, Vietnamese people will have more opportunities to access this rare medicine, thereby improving their physical and mental health,” Cung emphasised.

Numerous ginseng products were displayed at the seminar

Korean ginseng is a famous medicinal herb all over the world. Currently, Vietnam is the fifth largest export market of South Korea, following Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the US, with the annual average imported ginseng value reaching over $10 million.

In 2016 alone, the export value of ginseng was $11 million, and this number is expected to increase from 2018 when the free trade agreement between Vietnam and South Korea takes effect, imposing a zero tax rate on many Korean imports.

Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation promotes agro-fisheries and Korean foodstuff via organising promotional programmes and attending cultural festivals and food fairs, supporting Vietnamese enterprises in importing Korean foods, connecting Vietnamese importers and Korean exporters, and inviting customers to visits food exhibitions in Korea, among others.

In South Korea, besides commercial functions, such as importing agricultural products like cereals, rice, and vegetables for domestic consumption, aT also helps the Korean government stabilise the prices of the agro-fisheries market with price support programmes, products promotion exhibitions, and fairs.