The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting on Thursday seeking ways to expand South Korea’s exports to halal markets.

The meeting saw the participation of exporters of halal foods and related agencies.

At the meeting, the ministry delivered halal food processing certificates to six South Korean food companies that secured the certificates issued by the United Arab Emirates(UAE) last year.

The six firms are: Seoul Milk; Daesang; Jinju National Gardening Agricultural Cooperative Federation; the Punggi Ginseng Cooperative Association; Daesang FNF; and DK Foods. They are the first South Korean companies to receive the certificate.

At the K-Food Fair in Dubai last November, the companies acquired Halal certification trophies from the UAE’s Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology(ESMA) after undergoing screenings.