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Food News Clipping

February 18, 2011

2011.02.18

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: Friday February 18, 2011

For Coverage: February 17 - 18, 2011

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

EU Parliament approves Korea free trade pact [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932383

Summary: The European Parliament approved a free trade pact with Korea yesterday, bringing the agreement one step closer to coming into force this July, diplomatic sources said. The trade accord, adopted in Strasbourg, France, during the European Parliament’s plenary session, is the most ambitious free trade pact the European Union has so far negotiated, and the first of its kind with an Asian country. Seoul and Brussels signed their bilateral free trade agreement on Oct. 6 following two-and-a-half years of negotiations, agreeing to put the pact into effect starting on July 1. The pact must be ratified by the 27 member states of the EU before taking full effect. The deal still needs to be ratified by Korea’s National Assembly in order to go into effect as was scheduled.

S. Korean biz group urges early approval of Korea-EU FTA [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/18/33/0502000000AEN20110218004100320F.HTML

Full text: The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), South Korea's largest and most influential business lobby, urged the country's government and parliament Friday to quickly ratify a free trade agreement (FTA) signed with the European Union (EU). The renewed call came one day after the European Parliament ratified the deal signed in October 2010. "The FKI greatly welcomes the approval of the Korea-EU FTA by the EU parliament. It now urges the country's parliament to quickly approve the bill on the Korea-EU FTA to help meet the target date of July 1 for its enactment that was agreed with the EU," the body said in a statement. The Korea-EU FTA is said to be the most ambitious trade pact entered by the European Union and the EU's first to be signed with an Asian country. The FKI said the deal will be equally significant and beneficial to South Korean companies. "The Korea-EU FTA will be a foundation for our companies to take an upper position in the world's largest market in Europe," it said. "Our companies will actively utilize the FTA to help further develop our nation and its economy."

2. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

Seoul to raise tariff quotas on pork, powdered milk [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/18/89/0501000000AEN20110218005300320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea will "sharply" increase the amount of pork and powdered milk subject to its tariff quota system in a bid to ease supply shortages prompted by a massive slaughter of livestock amid the spreading foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), a senior finance ministry official said Friday. It also plans to add 24 more imported items, including cheese and butter products, to the tariff quota list, brining the total number of goods to be eligible for relatively lower duty rates to 99, Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong said at a meeting with other economy-related officials. The lower import duties will be effective until the end of June.

S. Korea's FMD outbreak to subside by early March: minister [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/18/55/0501000000AEN20110218003500320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's severest foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak is expected to come under control by early March as nationwide vaccination efforts take effect, a senior policymaker said Friday. In a radio interview with a local broadcaster, Farm Minister Yoo Jeong-bok said the number of FMD cases has started to fall off in recent weeks after the first round of nationwide vaccinations have been completed on all cattle and pigs.

3. MARKETING ISSUES

Fishflation - High price of Fisheries cause inflation in Korea [Korean, YSY]

http://news.hankooki.com/ArticleView/ArticleView.php?url=economy/201102/h2011021520500721500.htm&ver=v002

Summary: seafood price recorded historical high these days and even expected to go up more, mainly due to limited supplies and increased consumption.

Agflation - Korea government worry ‘agflation’ [Korean, YSY]

http://news.hankooki.com/ArticleView/ArticleView.php?url=economy/201102/h2011021517585121500.htm&ver=v002

Summary: Korea government will try to prevent inflation from high agricultural commodity price, such as increasing domestic production, and grain stocks.

Volume of food imports skyrockets amid severe shortages [English, CSY]

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2011021828438

Summary: With the prices of agricultural and fishery products skyrocketing in the wake of the cold spell, heavy snow and the spread of foot-and-mouth disease, imports of these products have dramatically increased since early this year. The stop-gap measure seeks to stabilize prices but is not a fundamental solution to inflation, which could last until the end of the year.

4. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Overseas coffee exporters eye Korea [English, CSY]

Companies look to hook up with Korean partners during trade show

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932376

Summary: Korea came a bit late to the premium coffee party, at least compared with other developed countries. Upscale international chains like Starbucks and Coffee Bean have had a presence here for more than a decade, yet it took some time for them to reach the explosive growth levels of the past few years. Now, you can’t walk a block - or even half a block - without stumbling into a shop selling premium coffee. With this as the backdrop, representatives of 20 selected coffee and tea exporters from 10 Southeast Asian countries participated in a trade show yesterday in Seoul in an attempt to woo local partners. The companies at the event hope to capitalize on Korea’s 2.3 trillion won ($2.06 billion) coffee market - which includes coffee shops, drinks and instant mixes - and tea industry by hooking up with domestic firms to export their products or expand their presence here.

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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