By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter

The countdown has begun for the resumption of U.S. beef imports scheduled for next week.

The imports will recommence when the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announces its new safety inspection guidelines on Tuesday or Wednesday, following the return of a team of inspectors from U.S. meat-packing factories today.

The announcement has been delayed since May 15 because of public concern over the safety of American beef.

``We will announce the new quarantine conditions after we have the inspection team's report,'' a high-ranking official was quoted as saying to Yonhap News Agency.

The first batch to be released as early as next week is some 5,300 tons of boneless meat cuts which were imported last year and have been kept in cold stores here. Major shipments of ribs and chucks _ Koreans' favorite parts _ are expected to start around the middle of next month when U.S. meat factories finish calibrating their production lines to cater to Korean tastes.

Tension is still high with the public still unconvinced of its safety over fears of mad cow disease. And reflecting public concern, department stores and big retail stores are reluctant to sell U.S. beef at the moment.

Even American fast food chains such as McDonalds and Burger King are vowing to stick to beef produced in Australia and New Zealand for their Korean operations.

However, U.S. beef will still reach Korean consumers, many of whom will embrace the opportunity to purchase quality beef at about half the price of Korean beef _ there are over 270,000 restaurants and 38,000 stores that sell beef and most small shops do not declare the origin of the meat they sell.

Market indices support such views. According to the price watching system of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup), the price of first-rate Korean beef fell by 7 percent from 15,140 won per kilogram a month ago to 14,023 won per kilogram last Friday, indicating that the arrival of cheap U.S. beef will attract consumers from the more expensive Korean beef.

South Korea first banned U.S. beef in 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was confirmed there. Imports resumed in April 2007 for boneless cuts only, and these were stopped in October when fragments of bone were found in some packages.

The new guidelines will allow the import and sale of ribs and other parts that contain bone and even intestine and tongue, which are uniquely popular in Korean food culture. The most favored cut is lateral axis-cut short rib, known as L.A. Galbi in Korea.

indizio@koreatimes.co.kr