By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Lotte Mart will begin selling U.S. beef this Friday, making it the first major retailer to do so in three years and seven months after American meat was banned in December 2003 amid a mad cow frenzy.
The first shipment of 40 tons _ 10 tons refrigerated and 30 tons frozen _ will be sold at Lotte's 53 stores nationwide.
``We've been seeing rising demand among our consumers recently and decided to push ahead with the plan,'' Lotte Mart spokesman Kim Min-suk said. ``Because U.S. beef is cheaper and tastier, we're expecting a good response.''
The initial load will consist of Top Choice beef, which he explained is a high grade that is almost equal to the premium grade of Korean native cattle, but the price is significantly lower.
American meat of various cuts, including short rib, beef rib and sirloin, is set to be at half the price of homegrown beef and 75 to 85 percent of Australian imports.
``The first batch has been through a thorough inspection and is free from any and all safety concerns,'' said Kim, adding that beef is from top quality, Swift & Company, which is the world's third-largest processor of fresh beef and pork products.
The company spokesman also hinted that its market competitors, including E-Mart, Homeplus and Homever, were probably hurrying to import U.S. beef as well.
``We're working on speeding up the process because that's the general direction of other retailers,'' said a spokesman at E-Mart, the nation's largest discount store chain.
Ahead of the game, Lotte said it is looking to expand its stock after witnessing the response from the sales kickoff this Friday.
Neighboring Japan, which banned U.S. beef around the same time as Korea, began selling American cuts through some of its major supermarket chains in late March.
After months of eased inspection, the Nikkei reported Tuesday, Japanese imports of U.S. beef are continuously rising. The monthly amount was over 4,000 tons in June, up 50 percent from May.