South Korea’s major food manufacturers are shifting their focus toward the bio-industry, as the market growth prospects for food products is expected to weaken due to shrinking population and thinning profits. They believe the domestic food market faces limits for growth, which has led to fierce competition and operating profit margin of 5 percent to 6 percent being undermined by higher material costs.
An industry official said that some companies are turning overseas while others are finding a new growth source. Many players are searching for growth potential in the bio-industry because bio-products that require exclusive technologies to be developed enable the manufacturers to lead the market, resulting in higher operating profits.
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