L.A. galbi, U.S. beef ribs, is on sale at a retail market in Seoul. U.S. beef is still trying to win back Korean consumers. |
A year ago today, Korea and the United States agreed to lift a five-year ban on U.S. beef imports, triggered by a case of mad cow disease. No serious health-threatening cases had been reported in the previous 12 months, but a significant number of Korean customers are still reluctant to fully embrace cheap American beef.
In a recent survey, about 35 percent of 1,163 respondents said they will not buy U.S. beef, with about 80 percent of those not buying citing fears of mad cow disease. A survey with a similar sample size conducted a year ago showed over 52 percent of respondents saying they would not buy American beef.
Following the resumption of U.S. beef imports, shipments have been picking up and surpassed Australian beef in sales last October. Korea imported 13,100 tons of beef in total in the first two months of the year, according to data from the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
``The high won-dollar exchange rates has forced meat traders to cut down on beef imports,'' said an official at the Korean office of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. ``Shipments are expected to gradually rise. But it might take some time to gain the trust of Korean customers.''
Seoul; banned shipments of American beef in 2003, when a case of mad cow disease was found in the U.S. It took five years to resume imports in July 2008, and huge street protests and candlelit demonstrations greeted the government's decision.
Additional efforts are under way in the U.S for beef to make bigger inroads into the Korean market.
Politicians representing the ``beef belt'' states are pressuring the Obama administration to get Korea to further open the market, claiming that cuts from cattle of all ages should be allowed.
It is likely that Washington will seek this in line with other major issues between the two countries over the long term.
Beef from old cattle is currently excluded from importation into Korea under an agreement signed with the United States. Seoul announced last June the introduction of a special age verification program to ban imports of American beef from cattle older than 30 months of age indefinitely until public concerns over the safety of meat products subside here.
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경찰, 이태원 등 외국인 밀집지역 특별관리
