Australian beef on display at a supermarket in Seoul, Sunday. As a revision on sanitary standards and import processes was agreed between South Korea and the United States on Friday, American beef will be available here again later next month at the earliest. / Yonhap |
By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Richly marbled, yet cheap ``LA galbi'' (U.S. beef ribs) is set to return to the South Korean dining table starting mid-May, but the ripple-effect of the import resumption is already spreading in the local market.
As expected, the price of ``hanwoo,'' Korea's homebred cattle, dipped more than 8 percent, according to Nonghyup's livestock price index on Friday, the same day the news broke that South Korea agreed to ease curbs on U.S. beef imports.
``Hanwoo prices will go down further for sure,'' said Kim Hak-rae, a researcher at the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI). ``Koreans have been deprived of LA galbi and other American beef for a long time, so the immediate effect of the market reopening will be significant.''
The latest agreement will let in bone-in cuts, such as T-bone steak, for the first time since Seoul banned American beef imports in 2003 after mad cow disease was discovered there.
Partial imports of boneless meat resumed last April, but were held back again since October after bone fragments were found in several shipments.
``The arrival of cheap U.S. meat will result in a wide ranging impact on various livestock,'' said Kim, explaining that consumers' purchase decisions mainly revolve around the price, especially during times of a tough economy.
And retailers seem to be preparing to take advantage of this, as discount chains, including E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, say they will actively kickoff sales of U.S. beef once internal plans are finalized.
``Although some health-conscious shoppers remain concerned about the lingering mad cow scare, we're expecting that the majority will eventually choose U.S. beef over others,'' said Chung Sun-young, a product manager of Lotte Mart, adding that such optimism comes from the long-standing popularity of American meat.
Market data shows that shipments from the U.S. took up 80 percent of all imported meat up until 2003, demonstrating the overwhelming consumer preference for American cuts, which costs one-fourth of Hanwoo and half of Australian meat.
She said other than competing beef products, however, pork sales will also take a substantial hit.
``Market competition will drag down prices of other meat, including pork and chicken,'' said Chung, explaining that it will probably decline about 15 percent.
Kim of KREI says the upside of the market reopening is that consumers can have a wider selection at cheaper costs, but the downside is that the health factor still hasn't been completely clarified.
In the meantime, a cabinet-party meeting is set to be held today to discuss ways to save the domestic cattle industry, which is suffering a double blow of soaring feed costs and the upcoming U.S. competition.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
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