Seoul, April 2 South Korea will work to triple the size of the animal medicine market to 4 trillion won ($2.7 billion) by 2035 as part of efforts to foster new growth engines for the economy, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.
The government also aims to increase the country's exports of veterinary medicine products fivefold to 1.5 trillion won and create 15 animal pharmaceutical companies with an annual revenue of at least 50 billion won each over the next 10 years, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Yonhap news agency reported.
The ministry said the plan comes amid growing demand for animal pharmaceutical products around the globe, sparked by an increase in pet ownership, livestock product consumption, and infectious diseases in animals.
To achieve this goal, the government will initiate a large-scale research and development (R&D) project to secure core technologies needed for the development of new drugs for animals, including vaccines for infectious animal diseases.
It also plans to expand infrastructure for the animal pharmaceutical industry, adopt measures to strengthen the quality and safety of veterinary medicines, and expedite the novel drug development process.
The ministry said it will push for the legislation of a special law aimed at fostering the industry.
To expand exports, the ministry plans to improve guidelines for good manufacturing practices for veterinary medicines to align them with global standards and work to join the international Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme by 2038 to gain a foothold in the American and European markets.
"The ministry will work to foster the growth of the animal medicine industry in the mid-to-long term to make it a new growth engine for the economy," Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung said.
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