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Food News Clipping

January 31, 2011

2011.01.31

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: Monday January 31, 2011

For Coverage: January 28 - 31, 2011

1. Bilateral/Multilateral Issues

Obama likely to submit Korea FTA to Congress in March: report [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/01/31/13/050200000

Summary: The Obama administration will likely submit the pending free trade deal with South Korea to Congress in late March after undergoing a series of congressional hearings next month, reports said Sunday. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is expected to appear at hearings at the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee in mid-February to "pave the way for a mock markup of the draft implementing bill sometime in March, and submission of the final implementing legislation soon thereafter, possibly in late March or April," online magazine World Trade Online said, citing informed sources. Kirk earlier this month called on Congress to ratify the Korea FTA before a similar pact between South Korea and the European Union goes into effect in July.

Australia and Korea fete 50 years of ties and friendship [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931685

Summary: David Palmer, chairman of the Australia-Korea Foundation, expressed his hope for enhanced trade with Korea in the beef market. “Australian beef is very important to the Korean economy,” he said. “We think Australian beef adds a complementary role to help provide a critical mass of beef protein to 45 million Korean consumers.” At a press conference held at the Plaza Hotel, central Seoul, on Jan.19, the Australian ambassador said he hoped the Australian and Korean governments will sign a Free Trade Agreement within this year. “Although some sensitive issues still remain in the agriculture sector, I hope bilateral relations in trade will be developed by signing a Free Trade Agreement,” the ambassador said. When it comes to cooperation with Korea in green energy policies, the embassy said research centers in Australia and Korea that study carbon capture and sequestration projects are expected to work together at the academic level.

2. Livestock Issues

[Viewpoint] Korea’s inflationary challenges [English, CSY]

Even if the agricultural sector’s effect on prices is contained, there is no guarantee high inflation will be absent.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931612

Summary: Fears over inflation are deepening. Consumer prices rose 3.5 percent in December compared to a year ago, while producer prices increased 5.3 percent and import prices 12.7 percent. Driving up consumer prices were agricultural products, which leaped 26.5 percent on the back of a 33.8 percent surge in fresh produce prices. Among import prices, agricultural, forestry and fisheries product prices soared 30.8 percent. Meanwhile, the agricultural sector is under mounting stress. Low harvest outlooks due to extreme weather plus rising demand from consumers in emerging economies are fanning concerns over food price inflation, or agflation. According to the United Nations Food Association Organization, the fresh food price index, which has a bearing on Korean domestic prices, rose 32 percent in the second half of 2010. Rising raw material prices have spurred demand for bioenergy, leading to upward price pressure on corn, soybean oil and rapeseed oil, which are needed to produce bioethanol and biodiesel. Another source of imported inflation is coming from China, Korea’s biggest trade partner. Chinese products, 16.9 percent of Korean imports, are arriving with higher price tags, which are passed on to consumers.

Prices soar, defying government’s recent anti-inflation measures [English, CSY]

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=

Summary: Consumer price hikes are showing no signs of let-up, two weeks after the government embarked on a sweeping campaign to fight inflation. Crop damage from extreme weather conditions combined with the country’s worst animal disease outbreak sent food prices to record high levels, hurting low-and middle-income households preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. Pork prices jumped more than 28 percent from a year ago after more than three million cattle and pigs were slaughtered since the Nov. 28 breakout of foot-and-mouth disease.

3. North Korea Issues

First suspicious case of FMD reported in Jeollanam-do [Korean: BYK]

http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1000853138

Summary: The first suspicious case of FMD was reported in Jangsung, Jeollanam-do. The confirmation test result will become available on January 31. If this suspicious case turns out to be positive, then the whole mainland will have been infected with FMD, leaving Jeju Island as the sole FMD free area.

Korea to complete first round of FMD vaccination today [Korean: BYK]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/politics/2011/01/30/0505000000AKR

Summary: Korea will complete the first round of FMD vaccination today, as an additional shipment of 1.5 million doses of FMD vaccine arrived at Incheon airport on January 30. This additional vaccine will immediately be sent to hog farms that have not been vaccinated that are located in Jeolla province and Jeju province. Korea has so far completed vaccinating 3.62 million heads of cattle. It also has completed vaccinating 6.45 million heads out of 7.66 million heads of swine that need to be vaccinated. The vaccination will be complete when 558,000 heads of swine in Jeonbuk and 513,000 heads of swine in Jeonnam and 47,000 heads of swine in Jeju finish getting vaccination.

Korea to reduce the animals subject to culling on farms that have been vaccinated against FMD [Korean: BYK]

http://search.ytn.co.kr/ytn_2008/view.php?s_mcd=0102&key=

Summary: The Korean government has decided to reduce the animals on farms that have been vaccinated against FMD from being subject to culling. As for cattle, boar and sows that have been vaccinated, MIFAFF has decided to only cull the infected animal and calf and piglets thast are born after vaccination. As for porkers (pigs being fattened), if an FMD infected animal is found on a farm after 14 days from vaccination, only the pigs in the same room as the infected animal will be culled. If an FMD infected porker is found on a farm prior to 14 days from vaccination, only the pigs in the same room and same barn as the infected animal will be culled. MIFAFF has also required all farms that have been vaccinated against FMD but where 14 days have not past from the date of vaccination to receive their feed outside the farm area so that compound feed trucks will not get close to the farm.

Meat imports surge in FMD reaction [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931627

Summary: Korea’s imports of beef and pork have jumped this month amid a massive slaughter of cattle and pigs caused by the spreading foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the Korea Customs Service said yesterday. Korea imported 24,513 tons of beef during the first 21 days of this month, up 22.7 percent from the same period a month earlier. Pork imports also jumped 31.1 percent to 26,625 tons. Prices of per-kilogram beef and pork also jumped 25.1 percent and 16.7 percent this month compared with the same period a year ago. Korea has culled around 2.6 million livestock since the outbreak of the highly contagious disease in late November. The disease has spread almost across the entire nation now despite the government’s stepped-up quarantine efforts. Prices of pork and other meats soared in the domestic market, making it more expensive for people to prepare meals for family gatherings during the Lunar New Year holiday early next week. As part of stabilizing meat prices, the finance ministry said Tuesday that it will cut import tariffs on 60,000 tons of pork from the current 25 percent to zero until the end of June. Pork is cheaper than beef and popular especially among working-class people.

Gov't to tighten quarantine for Korean tourists from FMD-hit countries during holiday [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/01/28/80/0302000000

Summary: The government will beef up its quarantine of locals returning from trips to countries hit by foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) during next week's Lunar New Year's holiday, the Justice Ministry said Friday. Livestock farmers and others who are also open to risks will be recommended to undergo disinfection by local health authorities immediately upon arriving in South Korea from foreign countries where outbreaks of animal epidemics have been reported, the ministry said. Other South Korean nationals returning from overseas trips during the holiday will be required to show customs declaration forms along with their passports when re-entering the country.

4. North Korea Issues

S. Korea denies U.S. positive about resuming food aid to N. Korea [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/01/28/10/0301

Summary: South Korea denied a news report Friday that the United States is positive about resuming food aid to North Korea after the impoverished nation asked for it amid a deadlock over the international nuclear standoff. A local newspaper cited an unnamed diplomatic source as saying that North Korea has recently asked for 500,000 tons of food aid from the U.S. via their New York dialogue channel, and that Washington reviewed the request positively. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg raised the issue when he visited Seoul Wednesday, but South Korean officials reacted negatively to the demand over concerns that aid resumption would undercut international pressure on Pyongyang, the paper said. Seoul's foreign ministry declined to comment, saying it is not in a position to confirm the report. However, the ministry said it is "different from the truth" that the U.S. has expressed a positive position about resuming aid to the North.

The information in this report was compiled by the Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. The press summaries contained herein do NOT reflect USDA, the U.S. Embassy, or other U.S. government agency official policy or view point. U.S. food exporters can learn more about market opportunities in South Korea by reviewing ATO Seoul’s Exporter Guide and other reports available at www.fas.usda.gov by clicking on “attaché reports”.

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