FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: Tuesday January 27, 2011

For Coverage: January 25 - 27, 2011

1. Bilateral/Multilateral Issues

European parliament passes trade safeguard act for EU-Korea FTA [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/01/26/73/03010

Summary: The European Parliament's trade committee passed an enactment bill that outlines the use of trade safeguards once a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea goes into effect, local sources said Wednesday. Parliamentary insiders said the Committee on International Trade passed the bilateral safeguard act with no objections raised by those taking part in the vote. A safeguard arrangement allows a country to temporarily raise duties if there is a significant surge in imports that can hurt local businesses.

S. Korea, U.S. to finalize FTA text soon [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/01/26/050

Summary: South Korea and the U.S. will soon conclude work on the final text of their recently concluded free trade agreement (FTA), paving the way for the pact to be ratified in both countries, a high-ranking trade official said Wednesday. In December last year, both countries reached a final agreement focusing on U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.

2. Markeing Issues

Wheat is out as more food companies turn to rice [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931474

Summary: Major food companies are using rice as a main ingredient in their products. Daesang, the manufacturer of the food brand Chungjungwon, reported that some 16,000 tons of rice went into the company’s products last year, more than double the 7,800 tons in 2009. The skyrocketing use was mainly due to a single product - gochujang, or red pepper paste, made with rice. Some 7,500 tons of rice went into this product last year, replacing imported wheat, which made up some 20 percent of other brands. First introduced in 2009, this sauce rapidly gained popularity to become the No. 1 product with the largest market share in its category in the first half of 2010. Daesang also has other products that contain rice as its main grain ingredient, including curry, soybean paste, porridge and soup. Food manufacturers are flocking to rice because of a widespread awareness that rice can serve as a more nutritious substitute for imported wheat. Domestic consumption of rice has increased because it appeals to health-conscious consumers.

3. Livestock Issues

FMD holiday precautions out

Critics say crisis control manual was outdated and not aggressive [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931542

Summary: Before en masse travel begins for the Lunar New Year holidays that start on Feb. 2, the government has appealed to the public to help fight foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Meanwhile, critics are blaming the government’s FMD control methods for causing the nationwide spread of the disease. In the current manual, livestock within a 500-meter radius of infected farms should be slaughtered, with a transport ban and detergent washing of vehicles within a 10 kilometer radius. Although the disease has an incubation period of two weeks at maximum, there were no measures to consider regions with high possibility of infection, critics say. An epidemiologic investigation should have been launched to carefully determine the exact infection route, but the government failed to do so since there was no record of vehicles or people passing through areas, experts say. Vaccinations were also carried out according to the manual, and they were not aggressive, giving the disease opportunities to slip by, they observed. Lee Sang-gil, head of the food industry policy department at the Agriculture Ministry said they will “come up with a new manual so that this kind of case isn’t repeat.”

Pork tariff is set aside until June. Move to curb rising prices from FMD [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931482

Summary: Korea will temporarily eliminate tariffs on imported pork in an effort to stabilize prices in response to a supply shortage caused by the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the current 25 percent tariff on frozen pork meats, including pork belly, will be cut to zero starting this month. The reduction will remain effective until the end of June. The ministry said that it will consider extending the cut depending on market conditions. The move is aimed at stabilizing prices for pork and related products such as ham and sausage because of concerns that the massive slaughter of pigs due to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease is driving up meat prices. Tariffs on other imports, including mackerel, powdered milk and coffee beans, will also be eliminated.

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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