East Asian agriculture ministers join hands for sustainable growth

TOKYO -- Senior farming-issue policymakers of South Korea, China and Japan agreed to strengthen ties for sustainable agricultural growth, food security and agricultural economics cooperation Sunday.

In the second trilateral Agricultural Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo on Sunday, South Korean Agricultural Minister Lee Dong-phil, Chinese Vice Agriculture Minister Chen Xiaohua and Japanese Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi signed a joint communique to crack down on some common problems that are burderning the farming industries in the three nations. 

The joint communique states: “We had an in-depth discussion on food security, animal and plant diseases, natural disasters and climate change, biomass energy development, agricultural scientific and technological cooperation, the 6th industrialization of agriculture (and) the agricultural negotiations on the China-Japan-Korea free trade agreement.”

The sixth industrialization of agriculture stands for the combination of agriculture with processing, technology and hands-on experience, which the three ministers viewed as crucial to reviving the agricultural economy. 

   The sixth industrialization movement also encourages farming households and other small-scale farms to group themselves into a bigger, voluntary cooperative, to better cope with agricultural uncertainties.

According to the communique, the three countries accounted for 21 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and 18 percent of the world’s trade value in 2014, widening the scope of business opportunities in the agriculture and food sectors.

   The three countries agreed to join hands in combatting the spread of animal disease, particularly the foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza, through joint research and development of vaccine and participation in trilateral pathogenic symposiums and exchange programs. 

The three agricultural chiefs also jointly voiced the need for a speedy arrangement for the Korea-China-Japan FTA.

Regarding the acceleration of the trilateral pact, the communique says: “We recognized that the free trade agreement among China, Japan and Korea will be expected to promote trade in agricultural products and food among the three countries ... In this regard, we shared the view that it is indispensable for our agricultural development to accelerate the trilateral free trade negotiations to achieve mutually beneficial situation while considering various concerns and interests of each country.”

The communique also addresses agendas for stronger agricultural cooperation within global and regional multilateral frameworks, and a senior official meeting mechanism to seek ways to solve the current problems in a concerted manner.

The communique is effective for five years from the date of signing, and is subject to renewal every five years thereafter. In cases of disputes related to the agreement, the communique states that the three countries dissolve the conflicts in mutual communication. 

The third and next trilateral ministerial summit is originally scheduled for 2016 in China. Yet China asked to push back the summit to 2017 or afterwards, as it has G20 agriculture summit to host in 2016, Korean officials said. 

The first trilateral meeting was held in Jejudo Island, Korea, in 2012.

The trilateral summit came in the afternoon, following three rounds of bilateral meetings -- Korea-Japan, Korea-China and China-Japan -- earlier in the day.

In the Korea-Japan meeting, Korea and Japan came to common ground in that sustainable domestic production of food staples is crucial for food security for Korea and Japan, both being net importers in international food trade.

In addition, the Japanese Agriculture and Fisheries Minister asked Minister Lee to forward Japan’s interest to Korea’s Fisheries Ministry regarding Korea’s import ban on Japanese food, yet Minister Lee excused himself for not being able to give him an official answer for that cause, according to a South Korean official who participated in the Korea-Japan meeting.

“It seems that Japanese authorities are not inclined to continue with the lawsuit that they filed to the World Trade Organization against Korea’s rice tariff policy,” the official added.

In the Korea-China bilateral ministerial meeting, the two countries agreed that mutual trust is crucial in the upcoming ratification of the Korea-China free trade agreement.

Lee asked Chen, his Chinese counterpart, for speedy handling of the inspection issues regarding Korea’s export of kimchi, rice and “samgyetang,” or chicken ginseng soup, to China. These food items have long been subject to strict inspection, which some Korean businessmen criticized as nontariff barriers.

In response, Chen said he will forward Lee’s favor to the inspection ministry, which is responsible for the matter. 

By Chung Joo-won, Korea Herald correspondent joowonc@heraldcorp.com">(joowonc@heraldcorp.com)