The Korea International Trade Association held a joint conference with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and Taiwan Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday to discuss ways to boost trade between South Korean and Taiwanese companies.

A total of 122 companies, including 27 Korean and 95 Taiwanese companies, participated in the event, called the Korea-Taiwan Import and Export Conference held at the Taipei International Convention Center in the capital of Taiwan.

A total of 207 consultations were conducted during the event, according to KITA.

The conference, which was centered on consumer goods such as beauty products, food and household commodities, discussed $32.8 million in buyer-exporter contracts, of which $11.2 million worth will be pursued. Contracts worth $18,000 were signed on-site.

The attending Korean trade companies expected that they would be able to expand their presence in Taiwan by focusing on consumer goods with the return of face-to-face consultations after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, they highlighted the potential of the Taiwanese market and the efficiency of offline consultations while also expressing the need for invigoration and improvement of the trading industry.

Meanwhile, Executive Vice Chairman of KITA Jeong Marn-ki held a luncheon with Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi Chen. Together, they discussed the factors that are negatively affecting the state of the two countries’ trading industries, including their heavy dependence on China and semiconductors as a trading destination and export item, as well as labor shortage issues.