Foodpolis, the South Korean industrial food complex, is seeking cooperation with the city of Yantai in Shandong province. It was revealed at an investment meeting held in Yantai on June 9.

During the meeting, officials from Foodpolis expressed their hopes for Yantai to join the complex and said they would provide administrative and legal support in addition to implementing preferential policies. The preferential policies are to include a 100 percent tax reduction for the first three years and 50 percent tax reduction for the following two years for Yantai enterprises, and lease exemptions for high-tech companies to help them relocate to the zone. Companies can also enjoy employment and education subsidies.

Wang Jun, director of the food and drug department of Yantai’s Commission of Economy and Information Technology, said that Yantai’s food industry is taking an active lead in Shandong. However, Wang noted that many food enterprises had launched production bases in local areas due to the limited supply of raw materials.

The free trade agreement signed between China and South Korea on June 1 is expected to bring new opportunities to Yantai’s food enterprises.

Authorities say the construction of the production base in Foodpolis will enable Yantai’s food enterprises to compete on an international scale. Yantai-based enterprises will be able to take advantage of South Korea’s free-trade agreements with over 50 countries worldwide.

Located 44 kilometers south of Seoul in Iksan, the complex covers an area of 3.58 million square meters. It is estimated to be completed no later than the end of 2015. Upon completion, it will enable cutting-edge food research to be carried out. It will also contain development facilities and laboratories, and offer services catering for the entire food production process from food content detection and analysis to packaging. Residential areas for workers from more than 160 international food enterprises will be built at the base.

Edited by Jacob Hooson