On 10 December 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) of the Republic of Korea attended the groundbreaking ceremony for building the Korean Agricultural Machinery Industrial Complex, held in the City of Cabanatuan in the Republic of the Philippines. At the ceremony, Deputy Minister KIM Jung-wook of the Agricultural Innovation Policy Office celebrated the start of construction and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the agricultural machinery sector.
The ceremony was attended by H.E. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines; H.E. Secretary of the Department of Agriculture; H.E. Speaker of the House of Representatives; and H.E. President of the Senate of the Philippines.
From the Republic of Korea, participants included H.E. KIM Jung-wook, Deputy Minister of the Agri-food Innovation Policy Bureau of the MAFRA; H.E. Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Philippines; H.E. Shin-gil Kim, Chairman of the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative; and representatives of agricultural machinery companies.
The construction of the Korean Agricultural Machinery Industrial Complex is being promoted through cooperation between the Government of the Philippines and the Korea Agricultural Machinery Industry Cooperative of Korea. The Philippines is seeking to mechanize its agriculture, while Korean agricultural machinery companies aim to expand their exports to Southeast Asia.
With investments from Korean companies, agricultural machinery manufacturing plants will be built on a 200,000-square-meter site in Cabanatuan from 2026 to 2034. The Philippine government will provide support including land lease, infrastructure such as roads, electricity, telecommunications, and water, and tax exemptions.
This project is expected to increase exports of Korean agricultural machinery to Southeast Asia and support the mechanization of Philippine agriculture, helping improve productivity and crop quality. Exports to Southeast Asia have been rising (USD 37 million in 2023 to USD 52 million in 2024), showing the region's strong growth potential.
In 2024, the Philippines accounted for the largest share of Korean agricultural machinery exports to Southeast Asia at 60 percent. Exports to the Philippines rose sharply from USD 9 million in 2023 to USD 31 million in 2024. This makes the Philippines a favorable location for Korean companies to enter and build their presence. The Korean agricultural machinery industry plans to use the new industrial complex as an export hub and diversify its markets to Southeast Asia and beyond North America.
H.E. KIM Jung-wook expressed his expectations during the ceremony, saying, "This project will greatly contribute to the development of both countries' agriculture and agricultural machinery industries."
He added, "The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic of Korea will make the utmost effort to support the smooth progress of the project. To this end, we will actively cooperate with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and provide support for Korean companies involved in this project."
Source: MAFRA
