Korea’s Import Beef Market

The Korean beef market has a love/hate relationship with US beef.
The Korean beef market has a love/hate relationship with US beef.

 

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- Imports of US beef in 2013 waned for the second year in a row, while those from Australia increased, data showed Thursday.

According to data by the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) and Korea International Trade Association, US beef imports reached 92,145 tons in 2013, accounting for 34.5 percent of the country’s overall imported beef. The latest figure is down from 36 percent in 2012.

Seoul had banned beef imports from the US in December 2003 on a mad cow scare. The import resumed in January 2006, and the US beef products accounted for 37.5 percent of the total market in 2011 before waning.

The USMEF cited a big drop in domestic beef supply, along with a decrease in the head of cattle, as feed prices have risen.

Australian beef ranked first in the local imported beef market, taking up 55 percent with 147,174 tons. New Zealand beef ranked third with 9.5 percent of the market at 25,345 tons.

Beef from Mexico, Canada, Uruguay, and Chile failed to account for more than 1 percent of the market.

The US was the largest exporter of pork to South Korea, taking up 34.5 percent of the local market with 190,987 tons. It was trailed by Canada with 13.6 percent, Germany with 11 percent, Chile with 10.4 percent, and Spain with 6.3 percent.

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