U.S. beef, pork exports to S. Korea rise in 2008

SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Yonhap) -- U.S. beef and pork exports to South Korea increased
sharply in 2008 from the year before, due mainly to the lifting of a beef import
ban, a meat packers federation said on Sunday.
In a statement posted on its Web site, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF)
said beef exports to South Korea more than doubled last year from 2007.
Between June and November last year, U.S. beef exports reached 53,932 tons.
Once the world's third-largest buyer of U.S. beef, South Korea imported $850
million worth of the product annually at its peak. Imports were banned in 2003
after the discovery of a case of mad cow disease in the U.S. state of Washington
in 2003.
Imports resumed in April of 2007 but were halted in early October the same year
after banned bone fragments were found in a shipment. They were again allowed
with almost no restrictions following a controversial deal in late June 2008.
Although large supplies of beef remain in cold storage in South Korea, the USMEF
said it expects inventories will decline as currencies and prices stabilize,
leading to a strong demand for the U.S. meat.
The exporters' group cited a South Korean law requiring restaurant owners to
specify the country of origin of their meat products as a major factor behind
limited U.S. beef sales in the country.
Pork exports to South Korea gained steadily last year. Exports from January
through November rose 42 percent to 122,997 tons, it said.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
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