K-food firms sign $15m export deals at first Oceania fair in Melbourne

Korean agricultural and food companies signed $15 million worth of export MOUs at a K-food trade fair in Australia, with ready-to-cook noodles, premium desserts and high-protein beverages drawing strong interest from local buyers. The accompanying consumer event drew 10,000 visitors who sampled and purchased Korean food products tied to hallyu content.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced Monday that the 2026 Australia K-Food Fair × Hallyu Expo, co-hosted with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA, wrapped up at Melbourne Showgrounds after running Thursday through Saturday.

It was the first time a K-Food Fair had been held in the Oceania region. It was also only the second time the agriculture and trade ministries had jointly organized such an event, following a similar fair in Hanoi, Vietnam, in July.

The business-to-business export consultation sessions, held Thursday and Friday, brought together 35 Korean food and agricultural companies and 74 buyers from Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. The sessions produced 410 individual consultations and resulted in 11 MOUs valued at $15 million.

Local buyers showed particular interest in easy-to-prepare Korean foods. Ready-to-cook noodle products — including rice noodles and perilla oil makguksu — drew attention alongside bakery items and frozen desserts made with regional specialty ingredients. High-protein beverages and nutritious convenience foods also attracted interest as products aligned with health-conscious consumption trends in the local market.

A business-to-consumer event followed on Friday and Saturday, showcasing a wide range of Korean foods — including ramyun, snacks, beverages, kimchi and fermented pastes — to 10,000 local consumers. Promotional and retail spaces were set up so visitors could taste products before buying them.

Interactive food-pairing experiences were also on offer. Visitors could enjoy tteokbokki alongside rice balls or pair spicy dishes with sweet drinks. One featured combination introduced guests to dipping snacks in a spicy-sweet sauce.

A cooking show on Saturday featured tteokgalbi — Korean grilled short rib patties — prepared using locally familiar beef combined with Korean soy sauce, doenjang and gochujang. The demonstration showed how Korean traditional fermented condiments could be incorporated into local ingredients, encouraging visitors to recreate the dishes at home.

Jeon Gi-chan, aT's director of export food affairs, said the event carried significant meaning as the first K-Food Fair in Oceania and as an example of cross-ministry and inter-agency collaboration to promote K-food alongside K-beauty and hallyu. "We will continue to link our marketing efforts to local consumption trends to strengthen the export competitiveness of our agricultural and food products," Jeon said.