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Food News Clipping

February 28, 2011

2011.02.28

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues
Today's Date:   Monday February 28, 2011
For Coverage:  February 25 - 28, 2011
 
 
1. ECONOMIC ISSUES
 

S. Korea's food industry grows 13 pct in 2009: report [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/27/65/0501000000AEN20110227000500320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's food industry posted a 13 percent growth in 2009, surpassing the 40 trillion won (US$35.5 billion) mark in sales for the first time, a report showed on Sunday.  According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, sales in the country's food sector were estimated at 44.4 trillion won in 2009, up 5.1 trillion won from a year earlier.

 
2. GRAIN & OILSEED ISSUES
 

Soybean milk producers fined for price fixing [English, CSY, MJF]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932794

Summary: Korea¡¯s antitrust agency yesterday imposed penalties on the country¡¯s top three soybean milk producers for price fixing.  The Fair Trade Commission announced that it has decided to impose a 13.1 billion won ($11.6 million) fine for collusion on price increases and limiting the giveaway of free samples among the producers.  The three companies are Dr. Chung¡¯s Food, Sahmyook Foods and Maeil Dairies, which have a combined market share of 82 percent in Korea.  Dr. Chung¡¯s Food was fined the most with 9.9 billion won, followed by Maeil with 1.7 billion won and Sahmyook with 1.5 billion won.  The country¡¯s soybean milk market is expected to be worth 400 billion won, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year, due to increased demands for healthy food products.

 
3. LIVESTOCK ISSUES
 

S. Korea to expand tariff quota on powdered milk, pork belly [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/28/25/0502000000AEN20110228002500320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea will expand the amount of powdered milk and frozen pork belly subject to no import taxes as part of efforts to ease price hikes sparked by the massive slaughter of livestock amid the spreading foot-and-mouth disease, the finance ministry said Monday.   The measure, finalized during a Cabinet meeting held earlier in the day, will go into effect from early March under the government's quota tariff system, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

 

A tariff quota is a quantitative threshold on imports, above which a higher tariff is applied. The lower tariff rate applies to imports within the quota, allowing policymakers to adjust duties on specified merchandise to help control inflationary pressure.  Under the latest decision, the government will impose no import duties on 30,000 tons of powdered milk until the end of this year. It earlier sought to apply the tax exemption to 9,000 tons of the product by the end of June.

 

GNP demands dismissal of farm minister over FMD spread [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/28/21/0301000000AEN20110228001700315F.HTML

Summary: The Grand National Party (GNP) has formally asked President Lee Myung-bak to sack his farm minister over one of the worst outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease here, party officials said Monday, as the ruling party struggles to woo voters ahead of the April 27 by-elections.   The demand was delivered to presidential aides in their regular policy coordination meeting with officials at the GNP and the government on Sunday.   "Participants from the GNP requested that the minister for food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Yoo Jeong-bok, take responsibility, as the foot-and-mouth problem has abated somewhat," a senior GNP official told Yonhap News Agency by phone, requesting anonymity.

 

Fresh bird flu strain confirmed in southern area [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/113_82126.html

Full text: About 1,000 ducks found dead earlier this week at a farm in southern South Korea were confirmed Saturday to have been infected with a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza, raising concern that the lethal virus is spreading in the country, officials said.  The H5A1 virus was found on the duck farm in Damyang county of South Jeolla Province, about 350 kilometers south of Seoul, quarantine officials said.  It was the 46th confirmed bird flu outbreak in the country since the first case was reported on Dec. 29. In the past two months, a record 5.5 million birds have been culled.  Quarantine officials at the province said they have been slaughtering about 13,000 ducks at poultry farms in Damyang to try to contain the spread of the virus.   "We are reinforcing quarantine measures to prevent the avian influenza from spreading here," said an official at the South Jeolla provincial government.   The spreading bird disease is a double whammy for South Korea which has been battling what many officials say is the worst-ever outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. (Yonhap)

 

4. MARKETING ISSUES
 

Food materials sector bears the brunt [English, CSY, MJF]

[NEWS IN FOCUS] Government policy prevents companies from raising prices, causing massive losses

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932788

Summary: Soaring prices of agricultural commodities around the world are threatening to shake the pecking order of the local food industry.   Korea¡¯s food materials sector has reported poor performances across the board. However, food processors that use the sugar, flour and other ingredients provided by the materials sector have fared comparatively well.  The discrepancy comes from a government policy that has sought to restrain fast-rising consumer prices by regulating materials sellers, but not processors.  According to a Financial Supervisory Service financial records system, materials firms such as sugar and flour manufacturers are down and out, while processors such as confectioneries and beverage makers are gaining ground.
 

 

Mixed Feed Price Soars as High as 8.1 Percent [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022534931&sid=0104&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: Local suppliers of mixed feed products for cattle and swine have increased the retail prices as high as 8.1 percent in February.  Suppliers explained that the price increase was due to the rising price of raw ingredients, including corn, wheat, and soy meal, in the international market.

 

Local Retailers in Price War with Fresh Octopus Imported from Thailand [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022534241&sid=0104&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: While leading department stores and hypermarkets have launched sales promotion around fresh octopus imported from Thailand earlier last week, retailers are competing each other to attract more consumers.  E-Mart is selling the octopus at 1,080 won per 100 g, which is about half the price of local octopus.  HomePlus has set its price at 1,070 won per 100 gram.  Lotte Department store has reduced the price down to 1,000 won per 100 g in return.

 
5. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
 

First whiskey festival draws diverse crowd [English, MJF]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932790

Summary: Yesterday morning, 1,200 participants started tasting and viewing expensive single malts and blends from nearly 50 whiskey brands. Glitzy and sleek booths displayed spirits that definitely skewed toward the high-end, ranging from 12 to 35 years old.

 

 

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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Agricultural Trade Office, U.S. Embassy - Seoul
Tel: 82-2-6951-6848 Fax: 82-2-720-7921
Email: atoseoul@state.gov