The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) dispatched a biohealth business delegation to Mexico City, Mexico, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, for four days starting on the 12th, hosting the "Korea-Latin America Biomedical Partnership," the agencies announced Monday.
A total of 27 companies participated in the delegation, including 10 pharmaceutical firms such as Hanmi Pharmaceutical and HK inno.N, along with 17 medical device companies including DRTECH and Infinitt Healthcare.
Mexico and Brazil, the two countries visited by the delegation, are markets with populations of 130 million and 210 million, respectively. With median ages of 30 and 35.3, both countries have a high proportion of younger consumers, giving them strong absorption capacity for new products.
"Latin America is a strategic stronghold that biotech companies should not overlook in terms of demographic structure and market growth potential," said Hwang Jung-eun, a director at Alteogen, who participated in the event and held consultations with 17 pharmaceutical buyers from Mexico, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.
"Amid U.S. tariffs and the fallout from the Middle East war, the Latin American market is gaining value as an alternative market, and the region's biotech market has high growth potential and is willing to lower regulations to import quality medical products," said Kim Ji-yeop, head of KOTRA's Latin America regional headquarters. "We will do our best to ensure that the demand identified in each country during this delegation translates into actual exports."
Following this Latin America delegation, KOTRA plans to dispatch trade missions throughout the year to major regions worldwide, focusing on promising future sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and advanced mobility, to support Korean exporters in expanding their markets.
