Traditional demand for beef during South Korea's Chuseok holiday is prompting more U.S. imports to clear customs and reach the market, the government said Monday.
The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS) said 10,185 tons of U.S. beef have cleared quarantine inspections since revised import rules on the meat went into effect on June 26.
Of these, a third or 3,698 tons have been handed over to importers for sale. The total that reached store shelves and restaurants represents a sharp increase compared to the 1,700 tons that were taken out of customs warehouses as of mid August.
The NVRQS said Chuseok, one of the most important traditional holidays in Korea, is fueling demand since local beef consumption jumps two fold during the month within which the three-day holiday falls. Because Chuseok is determined by the lunar calendar, it usually falls in either September or October. For this year, Chuseok falls on Sunday.
"Importers, who had kept U.S. beef in cold storage even after they have cleared inspections, have started paying the necessary duties so they can start selling the meat," an NVRQS official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News. He added more beef is likely to be turned over to importers during the week.
Importers, retail stores and restaurants have moved slowly to sell U.S. beef after large-scale demonstrations broke out across the country following the April 18 agreement to revise South Korea's import rules. No department stores, retail outlets and large restaurant chains are handling U.S. beef at present with most sales taking place at smaller butcher shops and neighborhood eateries.
The agreement permits bone-in beef, trimmings and various byproducts such as intestines to be brought into the country, although additional talks temporarily limited imports to beef from cattle under 30 months old.
South Korea imposed a blanket ban on U.S. beef on December 2003 after a mad cow disease case was reported in the country.
The ban was partially lifted in April 2007, permitting boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old to enter the country, but all quarantine inspections were again halted in October 2007 after banned backbones were found in two separate packages.
Before 2003, South Korea had been one of the top three importers of U.S. beef along with Japan and Mexico.