Walmart and Shopee are some of multinational retail names South Korea has arranged for a virtual exhibition and conferencing with small and medium-sized merchandisers and producers at the Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2020 held this week via online amid ongoing pandemic.

Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2020, organized by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), is joined by 332 big corporate buyers from 34 countries and 596 Korean SME exporters for networking and deal making. This year’s number of participants is the largest since the trade association began running the annual trade fair in 2008.

Major buyers from the world include U.S-based retail giant Walmart, China’s largest variety lifestyle goods retailer Miniso Group, and Southeast Asia’s leading online shopping platform Shoppee. Korean SME participants also come from various industrial sectors, ranging from personal hygiene to cosmetics, foods, and electronics.

This year, KITA has invited the global buyers for virtual meetings with Korea’s SME exporters for deal talks. To facilitate one-on-one video conferencing, KITA has set up 56 virtual meeting booths at COEX exhibition center in Seoul.

KITA anticipated this year’s sourcing fair would provide the Korean SMEs with good export opportunities to survive through Covid-19 and beyond.

By Han Woo-ram and Cho Jeehyun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]