POSCO Int'l, Daesang sign MOU to cooperate in food business

POSCO International, South Korea's largest general trading company, announced on Friday that teams up with Daesang Corp. in the food business area.

POSCO International signed a business agreement for joint investment in new starch sugar business and stable supply of ingredients at Daesang's headquarters in downtown Seoul on the previous day.

Starch sugar is a natural substance extracted from crops such as corn, potato, wheat and tapioca. It is processed in the form of starch syrup and glucose and is used in various industries such as adhesives, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals as well as food areas such as baking and confectionery.

Under the terms of the agreement, POSCO International and Daesang will review joint investment plans in new starch sugar businesses, share information and collaborate with overseas subsidiaries through a global network, improve competitiveness in new starch sugar businesses and work together in a stable supply of raw materials. In particular, based on this agreement, the two companies will strengthen their dominant market positions in Southeast Asia.

By combining POSCO International's strong purchasing power across the world with Daesang's global business network in the starch sugar field, which has been created since 2007 in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, the two companies will be able to create synergies.

A POSCO International source explained that the company has provided Daesang with a stable supply of corn, a major ingredient of starch sugar, imported from Eastern Europe and elsewhere. The volume supplied over the past three years has increased to 160,000 tons in 2020, 268,000 tons in 2021, and 367,000 tons last year.

POSCO International is carrying out grain trading and food resource development projects to secure sustainable food resources in a food market dominated by international food companies.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com