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Food News Clipping

February 17, 2011

2011.02.17

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: Thursday February 17, 2011

For Coverage: February 15 - 17, 2011

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

Cabinet approved additional KORUS FTA deal [Korean: BYK]

http://www.nongmin.com/article/ar_detail.htm?ar_id=183691&subMenu=articletotal

Summary: President Lee held a cabinet meeting on Feb 8 and approved the additional KORUS FTA deal. The Administration will soon submit this bill to the national Assembly to get it ratified.

U.S. Secretary of Treasury states, “Will put in efforts to open Korean beef market further.” [Korean: BYK]

http://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0104_201102170750356864

Summary: Tim Geithner, Secretary of Treasury stated that the United States would continue to put in efforts to further open up the Korean beef market. He made such statement during a hearing at the Senate in reply to Senator Baucus’ demand for additional liberalization of the Korean beef market. Secretary Geithner stated that President Obama felt the same way about such comments and that the President was also well aware of the importance of the beef issue.

European parliament to vote on Korea-EU FTA U [Korean: BYK]

http://news.mk.co.kr/v3/view.php?year=2011&no=102105

Summary: The European parliament will vote on the Korea-EU FTA bill on February 17^th. This agreement is likely to pass the parliament without any problems.

2. GRAIN AND OILSEED ISSUES

Report Says 10% of Rice in China Contaminated by Cadmium … Korean Ministry of Ag. to Launch an Investigation on Imported Chinese Rice [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021594291&sid=0105&nid=005&ltype=1

Summary: A research by Nanjing University, China, found that 10 percent of rice in distribution in China was contaminated by Cadmium, a heavy metal that can cause deadly effects on human nerve system. Korean Ministry of Ag. reportedly will launch an investigation on imported Chinese rice. China accounted for 52 percent of rice imported to Korea in 2010.

Worries Rise over Possible Fish-flation … Not Enough Supply for Demand … Koreans are the Second Largest Consumer of Fish in the World [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021599091&sid=0101&nid=002&ltype=1

Summary: Koreans were the second largest consumer of seafood in the world in 2010 in terms of per capita consumption of seafood (55 kg, Japanese were the leading consumer at 64.6 kg). However, supply of seafood products is facing many problems due to decline in fishery resources in near sea water and deep sea waters. Total Korean production of fishery products amounted to 3.1 million metric tons in 2010, down 1.8 percent from the previous year. Both near sea catch and deep sea catch declined, 7.5 percent and 3.6 percent respectively. Inland water catch and aquaculture production showed 3.0 percent and 4.4 percent increase respectively. Traders are calling for additional government support to cope with the changing environment and elevated restrictions on international fishing.

<2/15/2011>“We Need International Cooperation to Contain Grain Prices”: Finance Minister [English, CSY]

http://news.mk.co.kr/english/

Full text: Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun stressed the need to harmonize internal and external economic policies and engage in closer international cooperation to keep soaring grain prices in check and ward off inflation. “The upward spiral in grain prices is a triggered by a range of complicated structural factors across the globe, including climate change and expanding demand by emerging economies,” said Minister Yoon during an economic ministers meeting on Tuesday.

“We need to counter this hike by pursuing a wide array of internal policies such as building up self-sufficiency in food, improving our distribution structure, and enlarging our emergency stockpiles. At the same time, we need to harmonize internal measures with external policies of overseas expansion, diversification of import sources, and enhanced competition through opening up, while also relying on closer international cooperation,” he continued. “The persistent cold wave and soaring price of grain are feeding insecurities to food prices. If global raw material prices continue to soar, it may weigh down Korea’s economic recovery,” Yoon warned. “We need to cut off inflation expectations in the early stages. In the mid-to-long term, we need to secure a reliable supply-demand system for grain and other raw materials and actively embark on other countermeasures,” he stressed.

3. ECONOMIC ISSUES

Import prices hit 23-month high [English, CSY]

Economists forecast inflation will reach consumers’ pocketbooks by the spring

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932320

Summary: Most Chinese restaurants located in Jongro, central Seoul, have jacked up prices of jajangmyeon, or black noodles, to 5,000 won ($4.47), an increase of about 500 won. With raw materials prices on the rise, the restaurants have had no choice but to pass their price increases along to consumers. The pressure to raise prices is not confined to restaurants. Inflationary pressure on consumer prices is expected to worsen as import prices rose at the fastest pace in 23 months in January. According to the Bank of Korea yesterday, Korea’s import prices rose 14.1 percent last month from a year earlier, the highest since February 2008 when they soared 18 percent on-year.

4. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

Measures to fight FMD contamination put in place [English, CSY]

Among actions: sensors at culling sites, water surveys

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932273

Summary: Monitoring devices with automatic sensors will be installed at the disposal sites of animals culled because of foot-and-mouth disease as a part of government efforts to manage snowballing health and environmental concerns. Minister of Public Administration and Security Maeng Hyung-Kyu, Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoo Jeong-bok and Minister of Environment Lee Maan-ee jointly held a press conference yesterday announcing the government’s comprehensive measures to prevent environmental damage from the mass culling of farm animals.

Additional FMD case found in central S. Korea [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/15/37/0501000000AEN20110215004900320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea confirmed one more case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on Tuesday as quarantine authorities pushed ahead with the second phase of nationwide vaccination of pigs and cattle. The case, at a pig farm that raised 2,000 animals in Daejeon, brings the total number of officially confirmed FMD outbreaks since late November to 147, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. It is also the first confirmed case in the city, located 160 kilometers south of Seoul in the central part of the country.

Mistaken Virus Introduction Theory Leaves Blame on Innocent Farmers; Lee government's "foot and mouth response" hopeless [English, CSY]

http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201102151529407&code=710100

Summary: It has emerged that the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus that first broke out in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province last November, is a form close to that found in Hong Kong and Russia. This contradicts the government's announcement that it had deduced that the virus was brought into Korea by a livestock farmer who traveled to Vietnam. The fact that the government was informed of experiment results from a globally officially recognised specialist FMD research institute indicating this in the early days of the outbreak, but did not make the information public for more than two months, has given rise to controversy over government's concealment and distortion. On February 14, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Choon-seog made public a report from the UK's Pirbright laboratory, the world's leading FMD research institute, on genetic tests on the virus affecting Andong. The report dated from November 30, 2010.

According to the report, government authorities gathered FMD samples for genetic testing from Waryong-myeon in Andong City on November 28, before asking Pirbright, an FMD laboratory approved by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Two days later, on November 30, the laboratory produced in its report a list of ten viruses in order of genetic similarity to the Andong virus. The laboratory's analysis said that the ten similar viruses had all occurred in Hong Kong and Russia in 2010, and that they ranged in genetic similarity from 99.06% to 98.9% to the Andong virus. FMD viruses that occurred in Vietnam were not even on the list.

U.S. beef and pork seize consumers’ dining table [Korean: BYK]

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201102151424111&code=920401

Summary: Volume of U.S. frozen beef exports to Korea exceeds that of Australia in January, 2011. According to Korea Customs, the United States exported 10,580 MT ($52,779,000) of frozen beef to Korea while Australia’s export marked 10,203 MT ($40,076,000), taking over the first place in market share of frozen beef. The United States also marked the first place in pork export to Korea in January by exporting 10,261 MT ($26,280,000), overtaking Canada which only exported 6,083 MT ($11,260,000). [Embassy comment: Please note that Australia is still the largest beef exporter to Korea when you add both chilled and frozen beef exports to Korea. Total beef imports from Australia in January 2011 was 13,197 MT, while that from the United States was 11,437 MT.]

United States is the largest beneficiary from FMD [Korean: BYK]

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201102152136105&code=920100

Summary:

United States

is the largest beneficiary from FMD. United States exported 10,580 MT of frozen beef to Korea in January, 2011. This is a 40.97% increase over the import level in November 2010 (7,505 MT), prior to the FMD. The average beef imports from the United States have been around 5,000 MT per month after the candle light protest in 2008. U.S. pork exports also marked 10,261 MT in January. This is the first time that U.S. pork imports have exceeded 10,000 MT since June 2008.

Pork wholesale prices mark 6,703 won [Korean: BYK]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021598061

Summary: Average pork wholesale prices marked 6,703 won/kg. on Feb. 15^th. This is an increase of 9.3 percent (570 won) in a matter of one week. The pork wholesale prices stabilized after the Korea Swine Association announced that they would maintain the pork prices at 6,500 won/kg or lower. Pork prices reached historical high level of 8,372 won/kg. on Jan. 26 but had dropped to 6,072 won on Feb. 1, after the announcement by the association on Jan. 31.

Inadequate Response to "Environmental Pollution" Caused by FMD Burials Is Deeply Worrisome [English, CSY]

http://english.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201102161525307&code=790101

Summary: An investigation by Gyeonggi Province of 1844 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) burial sites has revealed that around 17% are close to waterways, near the region of the source of the Namhan River at Paldang Water Purification Plant, or near steep gradients. In this way, mass livestock burials have taken place at sites fundamentally unsuited to the purpose. The investigation showed, moreover, that supplementary facilities were necessary due to ground subsidence in 47% of cases, inadequate waterways or reservoirs in 56% of cases, and inadequate leachate piping in 45% of areas. Inadequacy is to be found everywhere.

We can guess at the total lack of planning behind the burials, with proper guidelines far from being observed. And we cannot help but worry about environmental disasters as a consequence of this. Still more shocking is the fact that the result of investigations of 831 water samples taken from the vicinity of burial sites in Gyeonggi show 27.4% of them to be unsuitable for drinking. This gives rise to concern that water pollution may already be widespread. Despite this reality, the government and ruling party continue to insist that media reports have been exaggerated and that there is nothing to worry about.

5. MARKETING ISSUES

Import Price of Coffee Beans Up 15% So Far This Year [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021596601&sid=010502&nid=005&ltype=1

Summary: Price of coffee beans in NY Commodity Exchange Market hit a 13.6 year high on Feb. 14. The price of Arabica beans rose 2.6 percent on Feb. 14 to mark 258.6 cent per pound in the market. According to leading importers, import price of coffee beans has surged by 15 percent so far this year.

6. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Korea aims to be world’s No. 4 fisheries exporter [English, CSY]

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110215000635

Summary: Korea aims to become the fourth-largest fisheries exporter in the world by 2020 through better marine resources management and creation of large, globally competitive fishing companies, the government said Tuesday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that the country will move to push up exports to $5.5 billion in the target year from around $1.8 billion shipped out in 2010. Last year’s tally placed the country in 19th place, which is a gain from 25th place reached in 2008 when fisheries exports hit $1.3 billion.

The ruling and opposition party agree to open the National Assembly [Korean: BYK]

http://www.mjknews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=42719

Summary: The ruling and opposition party agreed to hold a temporarily session from February 18^th through March 12^th to work on the 38 bills directly related to the livelihoods of the public that have been pending at the floor level. They will also look into creating 5 new special committees within the National Assembly and then call in Cabinet members from Feb. 24^th through March 2^nd to hold a Q&A session.

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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