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Food News Clipping

March 03, 2011

2011.03.03

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: March Thursday 03, 2011

For Coverage: March 02 - 03, 2011

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

Kiwi Chamber gathers momentum for FTA [English, CSY]

[Foreign Biz Groups: 3rd in a multipart series] ‘We see the role of the chamber to promote the benefits of free trade to Korean business and consumers.’

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932944

Summary: What role does the chamber have in the Korea-New Zealand FTA negotiations?

We see the role of the Kiwi Chamber to promote the benefits of free trade to Korean business and to Korean consumers. Clearly, an FTA is an important step in providing the best conditions for partnership and investment.

What benefits will the FTA bring to both countries?

Earlier economic studies by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and New Zealand Institute of Economic Research indicated that an FTA would be worth $6 billion to Korea and $4.5 billion to New Zealand, while a large part of the economic benefits identified are related to productivity generated by liberalization, not just the removal of tariffs. Korean consumers pay one of the highest prices in the world relative to income for a basket of food. This is a result not just of high tariffs on imports, but also because investment that would lower importing and distribution costs is missing. More efficient business models and a closer relationship between consumers and food producers enable greater choice at a lower price. An FTA can help bring new business models into play.

Expo promotes merits of FTAs [English, CSY]

‘If we do not utilize opportunities from FTAs, they will become useless.’

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932937

Summary: The three-day 2011 FTA Expo kicked off yesterday at COEX, southern Seoul, with the aim of promoting the awareness and benefits of free trade agreements. Supervised by the Korea International Trade Association and hosted by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the FTA Expo aims to help Korean companies, especially small- and midsize enterprises, prepare for the era of the FTA.

S. Korea, Turkey to hold free trade talks next week [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/03/02/0502000000AEN20110302009000320.HTML

Summary: South Korea and Turkey will hold their third round of free trade talks next week in a bid to narrow differences on key pending issues such as tariff concessions, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday. During the five-day round of negotiations that starts in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Monday, both sides will discuss a variety of issues including services and investment, according to the ministry.

Congressmen send letter to Obama to call for early ratification of Korea FTA: report [English, OYS] http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/03/0200000000AEN20110303000200315.HTML

Summary: A group of 65 new Republican House members has sent a letter to President Barack Obama to support congressional approval of the pending free trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama.
"We stand ready to work with you to ensure that new opportunities are created for our farmers, manufacturers, service providers and workers by passing the three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea within the next six months," they said in the letter presented to Obama Tuesday, according to an online trade magazine, World Trade Online.

2. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

Beef demand up sharply in four years [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932950

Summary:

Korea

’s beef consumption has increased by more than 30 percent in the past four years, causing the country to rely more on imports to meet stronger domestic demand, government data revealed yesterday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Koreans consumed 434,000 tons of beef in 2010, or an average of 8.9 kilograms (19.6 pounds) per person. This is a noticeable gain from the 6.8 kilograms of beef consumed in 2006 and reflects the rise in income levels, which has resulted in bigger demand for a greater variety of food. In 2008 and 2009, per capita beef consumption stood at 7.6 kilograms and 8.1 kilograms, respectively. Of the total consumed, 189,000 tons were provided by locally raised cattle, with the rest coming from abroad. The steady increase in demand has effectively caused local beef to lose market share, with self-sufficiency reaching 43.5 percent in 2010, down from 50.0 percent in 2009. The numbers are the lowest since 44.2 percent in 2004.

3. MARKETING ISSUES

Local Wineries in Gyunggi Province Compete for Consumers’ Attention [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/Market/3/0108/20110301/35208941/1

Summary: Three districts in Gyunggi province are investing heavily to help develop local wine industry. Ansung-si opened up a wine museum in April 2010 to help promote local wine made under “Comfe” brand, named after a French Catholic priest who reportedly started wine making in the area decades ago. Ansan-si built a new winery for the local vineyard cooperative in 2009, which makes both white and red wine under “Grand Coto” brand. Gapyung-goon is developing “Wine Valley” around Homyung mountain that will feature vineyard, winery, restaurant, and related cultural outlets to attract consumers from the Seoul metropolitan area.

E-Mart and Lotte Mart Close Down Their Flagship Stores in China [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011030258711&sid=0104&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: Shinsegae E-Mart closed down one of its flagship stores in Shanghai, China on Dec. 31, 2010. It was the largest store that E-Mart opened in China with 18,810 sq. meters of total store space (opened on April 29, 2008). Lotte Mart also reportedly closed down one of its flagship stores in Tschingdao, China in January 2011. The Lotte Mart Tschingdoa store was the first store that Lotte Mart established on its own in China (opened on March 26, 2010, 14,450 sq. meter store space). Market analysts commented that Korean hypermarket retailers are facing tough competition in China. E-Mart recorded 75 billion won of loss from its Chinese division last year (27 stores). Lotte Mart recorded 15 billion won of loss from its Chinese division last year (82 stores).

Environment-Friendly Ag. Retailers Report Strong Sales Growth [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/27/0318000000AKR20110227033200003.HTML?audio=Y

Summary: Specialty grocery retailers that are focused on environment-friendly products have reported strong sales growth in January despite the soaring prices of consumer goods. i-Coop SaengHyup, a membership retailer of environment-friendly agricultural products that operates 95 outlets across Korea, reported that the total number of its member shoppers increased 3.7 percent (4,427) in January 2011 to reach 123,251 (or 52.7 percent increase compared to January 2010). Another environment-friendly retailer, HanSalRim, also reported that the total number of its member shoppers reached 250,900 at the end of January 2011, up 1.1 percent from one month ago, or up 19.7 percent from a year ago. These membership specialty grocery retailers procure much of the fresh environment-friendly agricultural products directly from affiliated farms and farmers’ cooperatives. The direct relationship with the farmers reportedly allows the retailers to maintain more stable prices on the products compared to large scale hypermarket stores.

Samsung Tesco to Drop ‘Samsung’ from Its Store Name [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/27/0318000000AKR20110227035400003.HTML

Summary: Samsung Tesco, the second largest hypermarket store chain in Korea, announced on Feb. 27 that it would drop ‘Samsung’ from both its company name (Samsung Tesco) and the store brand name (Samsung HomePlus) starting from March 1. The change of store name signs would take several months to complete. Tesco UK has become the leading shareholder of Samsung Tesco, which was originally established by Samsung Corporation, since 1995. Samsung Corporation currently has 5 percent of the share of the company. No further information was released if the name change meant that Samsung would sell the remaining share to Tesco.

4. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Lunch Culture Changes as Prices Soar [English, CSY]

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=113252&code=Ne2&category=2

Summary: From FMD to rising oil prices to the crisis in Libya, the transition from winter to spring is not looking rosy at all for consumers in Korea who have their eye on inflation. "When prices rise more than the government goal of 3% because of factors like unrest in the Middle East, cold weather, or FMD, people have less purchasing power. Real income decreases, so people who earn regular salaries are sensitive to price increases and react by reducing their consumption." As prices in restaurants creep up, office workers are slowly changing their eating habits.

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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