Washington - South Korea is having a tough time importing enough beef to meet the quota set by world trade pacts, prompting the United States to become involved, the US farm counselor based in Seoul said.
William Brant, minister-counselor for agricultural affairs at the US embassy in Seoul, said South Korea beef consumption is suffering because of the region's financial crisis.
Consumers are eating less beef because they cannot afford to eat the higher- priced meat in a time of economic woes. And producers, faced with high grain prices, are liquidating their herds. Importers also do not have the money or financial backing to buy beef.
“You can do the mathematics to see that there are going to be some real problems,” Brant said in an interview in Washington, where he is attending meetings.
South Korea agreed to import 187,000 tonnes of beef this year to meet its requirement to fully open its market to imports by 2001.
But officials in Seoul are “fearful” the country will not be able to import the full quota and have bought only a fraction of foreign beef so far this year, Brant said.
Brant said officials from the United States, Australia and New Zealand have become involved and are setting up meetings to discuss the problem. Talks between US and South Korean officials have not been set, Brant said.
The agriculture counselor would not discuss if there was room for negotiation on the minimum export quota for beef, but stated strong support for the original agreement.
“We contend that their WTO commitments to purchase a minimum amount each year is not contingent upon whether or whether not there are adequate domestic stocks,” Brant said.
“We're going to sit down and work through this problem with the Korean government, he said.
Brant said that, despite the current problems, the South Korean government has assured him that they plan to meet the 2001 deadline.
“They are not talking about extending the timetable,” he said.
South Korea is the fourth-largest destination for US beef.
A report issued by US agriculture officials in Seoul last month showed that South Korean imports of beef from the United States are down more than 50% during the first five months of this year when compared to 1997.
Through May, South Korea has imported $146 million in US beef, down from $321 million during the same period last year.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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