By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Livestock industry officials from the United States visited the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Friday, to ask for South Korea’s full resumption of beef imports, according to government officials.
The seven-member group, which includes leaders of unions and committees representing 70 percent of the U.S. livestock industry, met with ministry officials in charge of livestock farming.
They emphasized the importance of the beef issue and urged South Korea to import all parts of U.S. beef, including cow intestines as well as beef ribs, regardless of age, citing a ruling by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that classified the U.S. as a ``controlled risk’’ country.
Ministry officials delivered the country’s basic position that the problem would be solved through ongoing talks between government officials and experts from both countries.
South Korea had imposed a total ban on U.S. beef after confirmation of a mad cow disease case in December 2003. Before that, South Korea was a lucrative market for U.S. beef exporters. Some 10,113 tons were imported in 2003.
Before the ban, 95 percent of the country’s imports of beef intestines came from the U.S. and the remaining 5 percent from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Since the ban, Australian beef intestines have accounted for 65 percent of imports followed by New Zealand at 30 percent. The remaining 5 percent are from Mexico.
Seoul partially lifted the ban later, allowing the import of boneless beef from cattle aged less than 30 months.
Talks have been under way on new guidelines for the import of U.S. beef in recent months after the two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA).
South Korean negotiators proposed that the country allow the import of ribs but maintain the ban on other specified risk materials (SRMs) such as brains, eyes, tonsils and spinal cords.
U.S. officials, however, called for the resumption of full-scale beef imports, reminding Seoul of the fact that the country had received the ``controlled risk’’ status in terms of mad cow disease from the OIE last May.
``We are dealing with a highly sensitive issue for both South Korea and the United States,’’ Lee Sang-kil, head of the livestock bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said. ``It puts a big burden on both sides.’’
In particular, the South Korean government has been under great pressure, as it is faced with mounting public criticism for its ``non-confrontational posture’’ even before the start of negotiations.
``Experts say that U.S. beef poses no health risks beyond international standards,’’ Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Im Sang-gyu told a radio program last month, just before the arrival of U.S. officials for negotiations in Seoul.