990832 Korean Meat Imports Soar As Economy Bounces BackAugust 14, 1999Seoul - South Korea reported a dramatic surge in meat imports and said it was another sign of the economy's strong recovery from recession. The Agriculture Ministry said frozen beef imports soared 2.5 times to 82,043 tonnes, worth $195.6 million, in the first half of 1999 from a year earlier. Frozen pork imports almost tripled to 61,327 tonnes and poultry imports jumped 3.7 times to 19,674 tonnes. “The 2.5-fold rise (in frozen beef) was attributed to the country's rebounding economy,” a ministry official said. Much of the frozen beef imported in the first half of 1999 -- 39,798 tonnes -- was from the United States. The remainder came from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other countries. Frozen pork imports in the period were worth $105.3 million. The country imported the largest amount, 16,307 tonnes, from Denmark. The remainder came from Canada, the United States, Belgium, France and other nations, the ministry official said. Poultry imports were worth $20 million in the half-year. South Korea imported 17,026 tonnes, or 86.5% of the total, from the United States. Thailand was also a poultry supplier. Unlike in years past, South Korea did not import any poultry from China because Chinese poultry was found to have been contaminated by a bird flu. South Korea imported 1,013 tonnes of Chinese poultry in the first half of 1998 in purchases made before the influenza was discovered, another official in the Agriculture Ministry said. South Korean beef exports jumped five-fold to 332 tonnes in the first half of 1999 and were worth $1.63 million. Of the total, 307 tonnes were live calves to Japan, the official said. “Local producers made an effort to encourage Japanese to develop a taste for Hanwoo (South Korean beef),” an official from the Korea Meat Trade Association said. South Korea's pork exports rose 12.4% to 49,700 tonnes, with Japan taking 43,000 tonnes. But in value, pork exports totalled $161.6 million, up more than 20%. “The difference in percentage rise between tonnage and value of the pork export was due to a 10% increase in refrigerated pork exports during the first half of this year,” the ministry official said. Refrigerated pork is a higher grade than frozen pork. “As South Korean pork has become more expensive, the country's exports in the second half of this year would not be as large as in the first half,” the official said. He said 100 kg of South Korean pork in the first quarter of this year fetched 190,000 won ($158) to 200,000 won, compared with 160,000 won to 170,000 won last year. The price then jumped to around 220,000 won in the second quarter, he added. “Local farmers have reduced their number of hogs since the financial crisis in late 1997, resulting in increasing pork prices,” the Korea Meat Trade Association official said. South Korea's frozen poultry exports fell by one tonne to 422 tonnes worth $730,000 in the half-year, with China's share tripling to 180 tonnes. Hong Kong, the biggest importer of South Korean frozen poultry in the first half of 1998, more than halved its imports to 123 tonnes because of its sluggish economy, the official said.
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