By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
After a long, draining struggle, U.S. beef made its way back to Korea last month. But importers are now facing a new challenge: finding a place to sell the product still widely rejected by the nation's biggest retailers.
So far, most sales have been limited to neighborhood butcher shops since major grocery chains, hypermarkets and restaurants are not accepting American imports over public health concerns.
American beef was banned from Korea for about three years starting December 2003 after the first reported case of mad cow disease in the U.S. Seoul agreed in 2006 on a partial resumption of boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age, but the re-opening was interrupted and closed altogether in October 2007.
Despite fierce protests against a full market reopening, importers had been upbeat about sales prospects considering South Korea's previous status as the world's third-largest market for U.S. beef exports.
But they are now starting to feel a bit uneasy, as they're about to lose out on one of the hottest selling holidays of the year ― Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day) which falls on Sept. 14.
``It's disappointing to see that the biggest supermarkets and retail chains aren't offering what shoppers may really want,'' Park Chang-kyu, who heads A-Meat and a local meat importers' association, told The Korea Times.
Industry sources say that the most popular hypermarket chains like E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, as well as department stores already completed their Chuseok orders in June with Australian meat. This virtually leaves little chance for shoppers to buy ``galbi (short cuts) gifts sets'' made of American products in these shopping outlets.
As far as pricing goes, American beef is the cheapest. LA galbi from Australia costs around 2,500 won per 100 grams, while that from the U.S. is marked at around 1,500-1,700 won. This is even cheaper than pork bellies, traditionally known as the least expensive meat.
Park, who represents more than 120 importers, said many of his members will start to actively seek more diverse distribution channels after Chuseok.
``We can't let the supply pile up,'' he said.
According to the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, which is in charge of imported beef inspections, importers requested a check on 5,410 tons of U.S. meat since quarantine services resumed last month. As of Sunday, more than 5,390 tons have gone through safety checks.
So far, about 1,700 tons have been passed on to importers with the remaining 2,500 tons have been left in warehouses.
An inspection official, according to Yonhap, said importers will probably seek to empty out the stock in the near future, particularly following Chuseok. Frozen meat expires after one year of cold storage.
An executive of Meat Line, another local importer, said there was no reason to rush the release if new distribution channels weren't established.
``It typically took 10-20 days to sell out 18 tons of U.S. beef, but it took more than 20 days to sell just 30 percent of the supply,'' he said, referring to his sales figures before last October, when partial boneless imports were allowed. ``It may take longer this time around since the meat is bone-in.''
Most industry sources reckon that that unfriendly consumer sentiment will remain intact until the first quarter of next year.
The nation's consumer sentiment index in July fell to a fresh 7.5-year low, according to the National Statistical Office earlier this month.