Today's Date:  Thursday August 16, 2012

1. GRAIN & OILSEED ISSUES

Hanjin Co. to Build a Grain Shipping Terminal in Los Angeles [Korean, OSY]

http://www.seoulfn.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=141131

Summary: Hanjin Co., a leading sea shipping company in Korea, announced on August 12 that it had decided to build a grain shipping terminal in Long Beach port, Los Angeles.  The project, planned to finish by the end of 2014, will construct a 2.2 million metric ton capacity grain shipping terminal in the port.  Hanjin explained that the terminal will reduce the shipping time of mid-American origin grain to Korea from the current 60 days to 30 days.

American Grain Price Soars due to Drought … G20 to Host Emergency Meeting Soon [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20120814/48613288/1

Summary: Financial Times reported that G20 will have a emergency meeting as early as in late September to discuss the soaring grain price.  In addition, G20 plans to develop an agricultural product information system (AMIS) that will help the member countries to better informed of the agricultural market situation around the world.  It is reported that the grain harvest in the U.S. this year will be a record low since 1958.  As a result, prices of related products are on a steep increase in international commodity markets.  Financial Times pointed out that the G20 meeting will also discuss the ‘minimum 40% rule’ that the U.S. implemented in 2007 on the use of corn in ethanol production.  Cargill and governors who support Obama currently ask the U.S. government to lower the mandatory ratio of corn that has to be used to make ethanol.

2. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Total Number of Foreign Residents Living in Korea Exceeds 1.4 Million [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2012080990911

Summary: According to an announcement of the Ministry of Administration, total number of foreign residents living in Korea totaled 1.41 million as of January 1, 2012, up 11.4 percent from January 1 of 2011.  Chinese was the leading foreign residents in Korea at 0.78 million, followed by Vietnamese (0.16 million) and American (0.07 million).  The number of children under 18 years old from inter-racial marriages between Korean national and foreigner was 160,8583, 3.8 times larger than in 2007.

Cola Sold in Korea Contains 24 Times More ‘4-MI’, a Cancer Potential Compound, than in the U.S., Consumer NGO [Korean, OSY]

http://donga.kormedi.com/health/news/New_View.aspx?artId=1203962

Summary: Consumer Citizen Coalition, a NGO organization, claimed that cola sold in Korea contains an average of 0.271 ppm of 4-Methyl Imidazol (4-MI), which is about 24 times larger than the average level found in cola sold in California.  4-MI is a coloring agent added in Cola and has been suspected as a potential carcinogen.  KFDA explained that FDA tests had found no health risk of 4-MI under current safety standard.

Hukusima Research Reports High Level of Abnormal Mutation in Butterflies due to Radiation [Korean, OSY]

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=104&oid=020&aid=0002359010

Cocktail Drinks Targeting Party-Goers Report Good Sales Growth [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2012081509911

Summary: Jagermeister, a liqueur imported from Germany is reportedly making a good sales growth this summer due to the rising popularity of cocktail recipes incorporating this liqueur among young party-goers.  According to the importer of the liqueur, total sales through July this year amounted to 25,000 cases, up over 100 percent compared to the same period last year.  The usual cocktail recipes sold in local dace bars mix a sweet tasting liqueur like Jagermeister with an energy drink such as ‘Red Bull’.

Lotteria Enters Myanma Market … Further Expands Market in South Asian Countries [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2012081509761

Summary: Lotteria, a leading hamburger fast food chain in Korea announced that it would sign a partnership MOU with a leading Myanmar business at the end of August, which will allow Lotteria to open its first store in Myanmar.  Lotteria, under the umbrella of Korean food service conglomerate business Lotte Group, has been seeking additional business opportunity in South Asian market.  For example, the number of its stores in Vietnam increased by 18 so far this year to reach 116.  It has also added 2 new stores in China and 4 in Indonesia so far this year.