Sharp drop in quarantine inspections as imports slump

SEOUL, April 13 (Yonhap) -- The global economic crisis has caused a sharp drop in
quarantine inspections conducted on imported farm and forestry goods in the first
quarter, the government said Monday.

The National Plant Quarantine Service (NPQS) said it checked 32,059 shipments in
the cited period, down 26 percent from 43,070 shipments checked in the first
three months of 2008.
Total imports measured in weight also fell from 6.46 million tons to 4.16 million
tons.
"The drop is directly related to a decrease in imports since the NPQS is charged
with checking all incoming shipments for parasites and pests that can be harmful
to local farming and the eco-system," a government inspector said.
He said the drop can be attributed to foreign exchange rates that have caused the
Korean won to depreciate against most currencies including the U.S. dollar,
Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, and concerns about the safety of imported goods,
particularly from China.
A weaker won causes prices of imported good to rise, affecting competitiveness in
the local market, while the melamine scare and other concerns about poor quality
have adversely affected demand for much foreign-grown farm produce.
The report showed imports of animal feed, flowers, fruits and grain fell 20-40
percent on-year from January through March.
The official, however, said the weaker won has helped outbound shipments.
"The NPQS checked 12,560 outbound shipments totaling 105,000 tons in the first
quarter from 11,604 shipments in the previous year," he said.
The service under the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,
meanwhile, said it detected 1,526 shipments that were either destroyed, sent back
or decontaminated for harboring pests and parasites.
It said 276 types of parasites were found overall in 2,375 shipments, although
under global trading rules, Seoul cannot take measures against pest that are
indigenous to the country.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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