“Crowded with visitors, but where are the buyers?”… AFPRO Expo draws regret over lack of B2B and overseas sales channels

The ‘Agri-Food Tech Startup Expo (AFPRO),’ hosted and organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency (hereinafter KOAT), is drawing criticism that despite its outward success, it fell short of on-site expectations in the key areas of B2B matching and overseas expansion results. Although a large number of advanced AgTech companies in fields such as physical AI and smart farming participated, there was a noticeable lack of B2B stakeholders and overseas buyers who could lead to actual investment attraction and market expansion.

This year’s ‘AFPRO 2026’ was held on the largest scale ever (by booth count), with 195 companies and 360 booths participating. Participating companies showcased highly marketable, high-value-added products and services such as artificial intelligence, smart agriculture, agricultural robots, and functional food technologies, seeking investment and broader sales channels. In particular, a newly established ‘AX (AI Transformation) Special Hall,’ where visitors could vividly experience ‘the future of agri-food technology expanding through physical AI,’ drew significant attention by presenting the latest technologies including physical AI-based smart agriculture technologies and AI robots.

However, despite such outward achievements, participating companies voiced disappointment. Agri-food tech startups that joined the expo had set investment attraction and entry into overseas markets as their top priorities. This is because they want to improve performance not only in the domestic market but also by expanding export markets. In addition, as external variables such as instability in the Middle East caused exports of some items to plunge, exporters in areas such as smart farming focused on developing export markets at this expo.

According to export performance data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, exports in the agricultural industry sector, including agricultural machinery and fertilizers, totaled USD 1.6617 billion in the first half of this year, up 1.4% from the same period last year, but the smart farm sector fell sharply by 27.3% to just USD 38.7 million.
 

“Nothing but general visitors and industry peers everywhere”… Participating firms cold over lack of B2B touchpoints
Despite the hopes of participating companies, voices of disappointment are emerging as this expo did not have well-designed programs such as overseas buyer matching or business meetings between investors and buyers.

The dominant assessment among exhibitors is that this expo was centered on general B2C visitors and people from the same industry, making it difficult to lead to meaningful business meetings. This is why some say AFPRO’s purpose as a specialized agri-food startup expo for promoting startups, attracting investment, and supporting overseas expansion has been somewhat overshadowed.

An official from Company A, a precision agriculture platform company, said, “At this event, the majority were ordinary farms or B2C visitors, and there were not many foreign buyers or B2B buyers, so it was somewhat disappointing in terms of finding business touchpoints,” conveying the atmosphere on site.

The head of Company B, which has participated in the expo consecutively for years, also expressed regret, saying, “This year, participation by food companies increased, but I felt that participation by people from the pure agriculture sector was somewhat lower than in previous years.”

An official from a smart farm specialist company that participated with the goal of developing overseas markets said, “We have continued to participate through cooperative projects with KOAT and at the recommendation of investors, but this exhibition had many industry peers and visitors who came simply to look around, so there was a lack of contact with the B2B buyers we actually needed,” adding, “As developing export markets is important, we hope more overseas institutions and buyers will attend the next event.”

Accordingly, there are calls that, considering the government’s policy direction focusing on agricultural industry exports, and for the government-led spread of smart agriculture to bear fruit in the field, AFPRO’s operating direction should also be reorganized, including the establishment of B2B and overseas buyer matching programs. To this end, measures such as securing a budget to invite targeted overseas buyers and clearly separating exhibition zones for AgTech and food should be 마련돼야 한다.
 

KOAT: “Planned with a domestic B2B and investment focus… we will strengthen overseas attraction”
In response to these voices from the field, an official from KOAT’s Startup Fostering Team explained the intent behind the event planning and expressed willingness to improve it in the future.

Regarding evaluations of the expo’s substance, the KOAT official said, “We are compiling detailed performance indicators, including not only visitor numbers but also the number of domestic B2B visits and investment outcomes, and plan to announce them in August.” The official added, “After reviewing the final tally and the opinions of participating companies, we will reorganize the operating method for the next event by strengthening overseas buyer attraction programs and expanding business matching touchpoints.”