Market Information   >   Food News Clipping

Food News Clipping

February 2011

2011.03.07

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

For Coverage:  February 2011

 
 
 

President Cabinet Meeting Approves Additional Agreements of KORUS FTA [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/politics/2011/02/07/0501000000AKR20110207188851001.HTML?template=2088

Summary: ROKG cabinet meeting on Feb. 8 approved the results of additional FTA negotiation with the U.S.  In the additional negotiation held in December 2010, the two countries exchanged adjustment on existing agreement for pork meat and auto-industry issues.

 

S. Korea's parliament in no hurry for FTA with U.S.: lawmaker [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/08/47/0301000000AEN20110208011900315F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's National Assembly will not rush to handle the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, tying the move with a relevant process in the U.S. Congress, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday.   "(We) will deal with the FTAs with the U.S. and the European Union separately," Nam Kyung-pil of the Grand National Party (GNP), who heads the National Assembly standing committee on foreign affairs and trade, told Yonhap News Agency in a phone interview.

 

Cabinet OKs supplementary U.S. FTA [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110208000599

Summary: The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a supplementary agreement to the free trade deal concluded between Korea and the United States, a government spokesman said.  In December, the two countries came to a final consensus on the bilateral free trade agreement after revising terms on issues such as auto tariffs and pork, paving the way for the parliamentary ratification of a pact that was originally signed about four years ago. The result of the supplementary deal will be articulated in the accord through a form of ¡°exchange of letters,¡± not revising the text.  The main and the supplementary agreements need to get parliamentary ratification before both countries can enforce them.

 

EU Parliamentary panel endorses Korea EU FTA [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/common/redirect.jsp?category_id=020201000000&news_id=20110208000597

Summary: BRUSSELS (AFP) ¡ª A key European parliament committee endorsed Monday a major free trade deal with Korea after securing safeguards to protect Europe¡¯s auto makers.  The International Trade Committee voted overwhelmingly, 21-4, to send the deal, hailed as the most ambitious free trade pact ever negotiated by the European Union, to the full parliament for a final vote.  Doubling EU trade with Korea, the deal will eliminate 98 percent of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services within the next five years.  The full EU parliament is expected to vote on the agreement next week.

 

U.S. Congress likely to vote on KORUS FTA in May [Korean: BYK]

http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20110201005010

Summary: According to Inside U.S. Trade, the Obama administration is expected to send the KORUS FTA package to the Congress at the end of March or April and the actual vote within the Congress is expected to take place sometime in May.

 

Gov¡¯t – Ruling Party Agree to Bring Korea-EU FTA Bill to the National Assembly in February [Korea, OSY]

http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?articleid=2011020916572036770&linkid=20&newssetid=455

Summary: In a meeting held on February 9, the ruling party and the government agreed to bring the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement Bill to the national assembly in February.  The meeting came to a consensus that Korea should cope with the progress of the Korea-EU FTA bill in the EU assembly.  EU assembly is scheduled to initiate voting process on the FTA bill on February 17.  Assembly representative Moosung Kim commented additionally in the meeting that the ruling party will not make a hasty decision on the Korea-U.S. FTA bill, which faces strong opposition from the opposition party.

 

Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement Faces More Hurdles [English, CSY]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/09/2011020900794.html

Summary: The FTA still needs to be ratified by lawmakers in both countries, but the prospects that the National Assembly will approve them are slim. The government and ruling Grand National Party are saying that very few additions have been made and the original text of the FTA has not been touched, making it possible to ratify the supplementary agreements along with the existing FTA that has already been passed by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Trade committee.   But the opposition Democratic Party and Democratic Labor Party say the original FTA has been changed by the supplementary agreements, making it necessary to review the FTA from scratch. The reason the opposition wants to take the complicated route is because it believes Korea's national interests has been sold out in the additional negotiations.

 

Seoul to prioritize ratification of South Korea-EU FTA [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/09/61/0301000000AEN20110209009700315F.HTML

Summary: The South Korean government and the ruling party on Wednesday decided to prioritize the nation's free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) over a free trade deal with the United States in getting local parliamentary ratification, party officials said.  Seoul and Brussels signed the FTA on Oct. 6, and provisionally agreed to put the pact into effect starting on July 1.  The decision to take a two-track approach to the two agreements was made as the European Parliament is expected to ratify the pact during its main session slated for next week, Nam Kyung-pil, a lawmaker of the Grand National Party (GNP), told reporters. The accord passed a standing committee of the European legislature on Monday.

 

Korea, U.S. ink auxiliary free trade agreement [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932058

Summary: Korea and the U.S. have signed their recently concluded free trade agreement, paving the way for the pending pact to be ratified in both countries, Seoul¡¯s Trade Ministry said yesterday. The Ministry of Foreign Affair and Trade announced that Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk signed and exchanged the supplementary agreement, which will act as a stand-alone deal from the original pact.

 

Obama to Push for Ratification of Korea-U.S. FTA [English, CSY]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/11/2011021100331.html

Full text: U.S. President Barack Obama will submit the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement bill to Congress late this month or early next month in the hope that Congress will approve it this spring, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Wednesday.  Kirk made the announcement in a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee. He said Obama is looking forward to keeping his promise to achieve billions of dollars in increased exports and create tens of thousands of jobs.  Kirk pledged to make sure that there is also progress in FTAs with Colombia and Panama.  Some Republican lawmakers are calling for ratifying the three different FTAs at the same time, but Kirk made it clear the White House wants the deal with Korea to be settled first.

 

Korean PM: KORUS FTA Not Optional, But Vital to Economy [English, CSY]

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=112499&code=Ne4&category=3

Full text: Korea's Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said that the Korea-US FTA is not an option and that it's vital to improving the domestic economy.  During a speech at a forum hosted by the Korea Human Development Institute on Thursday Kim said he regrets that the trade pact is at the center of controversy in the National Assembly.  He added that previous trade deals with other countries have clearly been beneficial to Korea and to the global economy.  Therefore, Kim emphasized that the government will do everything it can to complete the ratification process within this year with the support of the nation.

 

To the National Assemblymen that came to U.S. to oppose KORUS FTA [Korean: BYK]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021321721

Summary: This is a summary of a commentary written by former U.S. congressman, Chang Joon Kim.  I heard that some of the assemblymen from the opposition party had visited the Congress and conveyed their message that they oppose the KORUS FTA.  Such visit was not carried in any of the local media in the United States.  The congressmen that this team met were a few that had the same mind about labor affairs.  I heard that the congressmen that had been opposing the KORUS FTA changed their mind after hearing how bad a deal the KORUS FTA was for Korea.  If it is a bad deal for Korea that means that it is a good deal for the United States.

 

Democratic Party Refutes Ruling Party¡¯s Statement on KORUS FTA [Korean: BYK]

http://www.asiatoday.co.kr/news/view.asp?seq=449322

Summary: The Head of the Democratic Party, Hak Gyu Sohn refuted the statement by Kyung Pil Nam of the Grand National Party who had stated that Sohn¡¯s position on KORUS FTA had changed after he joined the Democratic Party.  Sohn¡¯s colleague stated that Sohn¡¯s position had changed after the current Administration held additional negotiations with the United States which broke the balanced agreement that the previous administration had agreed upon.

 

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 17th.  This agreement is likely to pass the parliament without any problems.

 

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."

 

DDA talks that can affect S. Korea's farm sector make headway [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/23/0502000000AEN20110223012600320.HTML

Summary: The long-delayed Doha Development Agenda (DDA) that can affect South Korea's farming and fisheries sector made progress, raising the chances of an agreement being reached this year, a government official said Wednesday.  In a news briefing, Kim Jong-jin, deputy minister for agricultural trade, said headway was made at the Davos Forum held in late January, with countries calling on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to release a detailed blueprint outlining cuts in tariffs and subsidies by April so that a formal pact could be ironed out by July.

 

National Assembly targeting March 9th as the date for voting on Korea-EU FTA [Korean: BYK]

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=100&oid=001&aid=0004928205

Summary: The National Assembly is targeting March 9th as the date that it will vote on ratifying the Korea-EU FTA.  Both ruling and opposition parties have agreed to discuss this at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Unification on March 3.  The ruling party plans to send it over to the Standing committee on legal affairs for its review on March 7-8, 2011.  Afterwards, it will submit the FTA bill to the general floor for voting.  However, the opposition party is stating that it would not have sufficient time to review the bill during this session and that it probably will have to be put off until the next session to allow for more intensive review. 

 

 
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Food prices were second highest in OECD group (English, CSY)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931833

Summary: Korea had the second highest rise in food prices among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members in December.  Food prices in Korea jumped 10.6 percent in December from a year earlier, higher than the OECD average of 2.6 percent, according to the data from the OECD.

Among the 33 surveyed countries, Estonia topped the list at 12.2 percent. It was followed by Korea and then Hungary and Turkey with 7.6 percent and 7 percent, respectively.  The overall consumer inflation rate in December came to 3.5 percent in Korea, Asia¡¯s fourth-largest economy, higher than the OECD average of 2.1 percent. Seoul has been stepping up efforts to fight mounting inflationary pressure.

 

Inflation surges last month on food prices (English, CSY)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931788

Summary: Consumer prices rose by 4.1 percent last month due to a shortage of agricultural goods caused by the recent cold spell, the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) epidemic and the rise in international oil prices, Statistics Korea said yesterday.  The last time that the consumer price index increased 4.1 percent was in October, which was caused by soaring prices for fresh produce, especially Napa cabbage. The CPI in December was 3.5 percent.  The fresh produce price index rose 2.6 percent from a month ago and 30.2 percent from a year ago. The lack of pork caused by a massive culling of pigs in the country due to FMD led to a 15.1 percent rise in pork prices. 
 

 

 

Unusually cold weather and heavy snow have further contributed to increases in the price of cabbage, cucumber and green onion by 22.2 percent, 27.4 percent and 15.7 percent, respectively.  With the rise in pork prices, the price of substitute meats such as chicken and beef also increased. The price of chicken climbed 8.3 percent, while the price for imported beef increased 5.8 percent. The rise in crude oil prices led to a price increase at the pump for car owners.

 

[Analysis] Why are food prices in Korea soaring?  [English, CSY]

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2011020852848

Summary: A low food self-sufficiency rate and poor distribution structure are fueling food inflation in Korea.  Emerging economies have suffered from steep consumer inflation that even caused political unrest this year, but advanced economies have seen little or no hikes in food prices. Korea is an exception, however.  In Korea, food prices including those of agricultural, processed and drink products rose 12 percent in the fourth quarter last year, second only to Turkey (12.1 percent) among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Korea`s figure is also nearly 10 times that of Japan (1.8 percent) and the Netherlands (1 percent), countries also highly dependent on imports for food consumption like Korea.  The steep increase in food prices in Korea is due to the decline in the food self-sufficiency rate and a poor structure for food imports and distribution.

 

Prices of 66% of Daily Items Rose in Jan.  [English, MGF]

 http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?No=79398

Prices of 66 percent of daily necessities rose last month despite government-wide efforts to curb inflation. The Korea Consumer Agency surveyed prices of 80 daily necessities in January and reported that 53 of them saw price hikes since December. Only 30 percent of the items have seen price drop, while two-and-a-half percent remained unchanged.  The results show that curbing inflation in the nation appears to be challenging. The government had declared a war on consumer prices and announced to freeze public utility fees while clamping down on price fixing practices.

 

Prices for necessities on the upswing [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932152

Summary: The price of many everyday necessities soared in January despite government efforts to curb inflation, a state-run consumer protection agency said yesterday.  Korea Consumer Agency said that among the 80 daily consumer necessities it watches - a list that includes sugar, cereal and detergents - prices for 53 of the items, or 66 percent, increased last month from December. Prices for 24 products fell, while two remained unchanged.   The January numbers raise concerns about inflation, as the number of items that saw price rises soared from 31 in November and 37 in December.  The increase in prices comes even after the government unveiled a set of measures to freeze utility rates and started extensive campaigns to investigate potential corporate cartel activities in a bid to keep inflation in check, the agency said.
 

 

 

S. Korea's producer prices surge 6.2 pct in Jan. [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/10/21/0503000000AEN20110210011700320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's producer prices grew at the fastest clip in more than two years in January as hikes of agricultural and farm product costs added to raw material price growth, the central bank said Friday.  The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, soared 6.2 percent on-year last month, accelerating from a 5.3 percent growth posted in December, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a monthly report.    "Sharp surges in agricultural goods and pork prices also added to the upward growth amid unconventional weather conditions and outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease," a BOK official said.   Prices of fruit jumped 74.6 percent last month year-on-year while those of oil-related goods gained 13.2 percent, according to the BOK report.   An unusually prolonged cold spell hampered fruit and vegetable output in the country while outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease led to massive cullings of pigs and cows, pushing up meat prices.

 

S. Korea faces growing inflation threat: think tank [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/14/59/0502000000AEN20110214004300320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's economy is facing growing inflationary pressure amid high oil and agricultural prices, a state-run think tank said Monday, expressing concerns that it could hurt the real economy in the future.     "The Korean economy appears to be facing rising inflationary pressure amid a continuing economic expansion and improvement in employment," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly report on the latest economic conditions at home and abroad.  The assessment comes as the Seoul government has been intensifying efforts to rein in prices since it declared an "all-out war" against inflation.  The government has unveiled diverse measures such as easing import taxes on basic goods, unloading its stockpiles of agricultural products and cracking down on price-rigging in the corporate sector that it fears could lead to a rise in consumer prices.

 

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.

 

Korea Statistics Office Monitors Consumer Prices Using 148 Surveyors [Korean, OSY]

http://economy.donga.com/Economy_RealTime/3/01/20110223/35041341/3&top=1

Summary: Each month, 148 surveyors under the Korea Statistics Office visits 22,000 retail stores in 37 local cities and check the prices of 489 designated products.  Price information gathered is sent to headquarter via PDA on the spot.  After review by headquarter, the price information is put together into the consumer price index.  In the calculation of the index, prices of different cities and product categories are weighted differently to come up with the final index that can better represent the average market price in Korea.  For example, the price of city of Seoul is given 308.4 out of 1,000 weights applied.  Rice gets higher weights than less important products such as instant noodle under product category.

 

Yoon issues new inflation warning on oil price rise [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932662

Summary: Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun yesterday warned that surging inflation could reduce global demand and slow Korea¡¯s economic recovery as he urged measures to stabilize prices. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it is considering the purchase of 550,000 tons of wheat flour, beans and corn through forward contracts to deal with rising international prices.   ¡°Bad grain harvests caused by unusual weather conditions and increased demand in emerging market countries, including China and India, have resulted in continuous rises in international grain prices,¡± an Agriculture Ministry official said.   The ministry is considering procuring 250,000 tons of wheat flour, 250,000 tons of corn and 50,000 tons of beans, which account for 12 percent of the country¡¯s annual consumption, through forward contracts with American grain producers.

 

'Typo' in Korea-EU FTA Threatens Ratification [English, CSY]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/24/2011022401214.html

Summary: Some figures in the Korea-EU FTA submitted by the government to the National Assembly in October last year are different from the English-language original, it emerged Wednesday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade admitted the mistake, but lawmakers are angry that it pushed for ratification without correcting them.   Park Joo-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party on Wednesday said the ministry made a mistake in the course of translating the FTA into Korean and mistyped the percentage of non-originating material permitted for toys and wax goods at 40 percent and 20 percent respectively instead of 50 percent. "If this version had been ratified, we'd have made a considerable loss in tariffs and been subject to an international ridicule," Park said.

 

US industry wants early ratification of FTA [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/116_82033.html

Full text: U.S. industries want Congress to ratify a free trade agreement with Korea (KORUS FTA) early to prevent possible business loss in Korea as the country also signed a similar deal with the European Union, a South Korean envoy said.   Han Duk-soo, Korean ambassador to the United States, told reporters Thursday that U.S. businesses voiced concern over the delay of the ratification as it is obvious that they will lose out in the Korean market if the congressional approval comes far behind the ratification of the Korea-EU FTA.   The envoy made the remarks amid the National Assembly¡¯s move to pass the trade deal with the EU in March at the earliest.   South Korea and the United States signed the additional deal last year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade submitted the motion to the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee.   Lawmakers here, however, have not begun discussing it.   They will wait to see how the U.S. Congress will handle the trade bill. If they pass it, Korean legislators plan to read the motion at the legislature.   Han visited Seoul for the annual conference of Korean mission chiefs held in Seoul for five days from Monday.

 

Higher food costs hurt sentiment [English, CSY]

Outlook is the weakest since May 2009

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932694

Summary: The rise in food prices, partly caused by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, caused consumer confidence this month to slump to its lowest level since May 2009, the central bank said yesterday.  The consumer sentiment index - which measures attitudes on the economic outlook, living conditions and future spending - stood at 105 for February, down from 108 in January.   A reading above the benchmark 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The index, widely used to gauge the future direction of private spending, has stayed above the 100-point level since May 2009.  The survey, based on a poll of 2,071 households in 56 major cities, was conducted from Feb. 11-18.
 

 

 

S. Korea's food industry grows 13 pct in 2009: report [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/27/65/0501000000AEN20110227000500320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's food industry posted a 13 percent growth in 2009, surpassing the 40 trillion won (US$35.5 billion) mark in sales for the first time, a report showed on Sunday.  According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, sales in the country's food sector were estimated at 44.4 trillion won in 2009, up 5.1 trillion won from a year earlier.

 
 

Worries Arise over Possible Global-wide Grain Crisis ¡¦ Korean Gov¡¯t and Industry Are Not Prepared [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021054361&sid=010503&nid=005&ltype=1

Summary: While price of grains are continuing a rapid increase due to reduced supply and inflation pressure, it is pointed that Korean government and industry are not prepared to cope with the possible crisis.  According to a news report, Korean government maintains no bumper grain stock currently other than rice.  Industry has also been very passive in developing stable supply of grains internationally.  For example, there is only one Korean company (Hyundai Heavy Industry Co.) that is currently operating farm in foreign country (Russia).  In addition, there is only one Korean company (STX) that is currently participating in the international grain supply market.  In comparison, Japan has long been investing into global grain supply business and currently maintains its own supply channel for most of its grain needs.  As a result, Japan is not relying on international grain majors for grain imports, and maintains a more stable supply of needed grains.

 

Sale of Crop Disaster Insurance Starts Monday  [English, MGF]

 http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?No=79408

The Agriculture Ministry will sell from Monday through March 18th a disaster insurance plan for farmers at agro cooperative associations nationwide for five fruit items. The five fruits are apples, pears, oranges and two types of persimmon.  The scheme will mainly insure the farmers against typhoon, wind and hail damage, but farmers can also arrange separate coverage for extreme cold or flooding.

 

Possible Crisis in the International Wheat Supply as China Likely to Double Its Wheat Import This Year [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011021454461&sid=0101&nid=002&ltype=1

Summary: South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Feb. 14 that China is expected to import a total of 3 million tons of wheat this year, twice the amount it imported last year, due to a severe drought in its major wheat growing areas.  Price of wheat in the international market, which had already risen 14 percent from last year, took a steeper rise since the FAO report on Feb. 8 about the drought condition in China.

 

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.

 

¡°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.

 

Functional rice is getting popular.  (Korean: CSC)

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022178281

Summary: Despite decreasing per capita consumption of rice, special rice market has been recently increasing.  Korea has developed some rice varieties containing special functions to help children¡¯s growth; restrain the addicted from drinking alcohol etc.  The functional rice is made of adding special materials into rice varieties during cultivation, coating nutritional stuff into normal rice or developing special rice varieties.  The market size of functional rice is reportedly estimated at 6 % of total rice market worth of 8 trillion Korean won.

 

Functional Rice to See Bigger Market [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022178281&sid=0104&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: Daesang, a leading food company in Korea, launched a functional rice on Feb. 21.  According to the company, this new variety of rice contains 3.6 times more lysine, an amino acid that plays a crucial role in physical growth for children, than conventional rice.  The company added that despite the on-going decline in rice consumption the demand for functional rice is likely to increase in the coming year.  Korea National Grain Institute forecasts that functional rice would account for up to 10 percent of total rice consumption in Korea in three years.

 

Russia may extend ban on grain exports  [Korean: BYK]

http://news.etomato.com/news/world/economy/etomato_news_read.asp?no=141191

Summary: Russia is likely to extend its export ban on grain exports until end of July.  Russia has banned grain exports since August 2010 after the drought damage.

 

Russia May Extend Embargo on Its Grain Exports ¡¦ Adding Pressure on International Grain Inflation [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022350301&sid=0105&nid=005&ltype=1

Summary: Russian vice prime minister commented on Feb. 23 that Russia may extend the embargo on its grain exports, which is currently scheduled to end on July 1.  Russia was a leading exporter of wheat to the world before the embargo, accounting for 14% of total wheat trade in the world in 2009.

 

Soybean milk producers fined for price fixing [English, CSY, MJF]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932794

Summary: Korea¡¯s antitrust agency yesterday imposed penalties on the country¡¯s top three soybean milk producers for price fixing.  The Fair Trade Commission announced that it has decided to impose a 13.1 billion won ($11.6 million) fine for collusion on price increases and limiting the giveaway of free samples among the producers.  The three companies are Dr. Chung¡¯s Food, Sahmyook Foods and Maeil Dairies, which have a combined market share of 82 percent in Korea.  Dr. Chung¡¯s Food was fined the most with 9.9 billion won, followed by Maeil with 1.7 billion won and Sahmyook with 1.5 billion won.  The country¡¯s soybean milk market is expected to be worth 400 billion won, an increase of 20 percent from the previous year, due to increased demands for healthy food products.

 

 

FMD found at nation¡¯s largest breeding farm (English, CSY)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931848

Summary: Thirteen pigs were confirmed Saturday to have foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) at Korea¡¯s largest breeding farm - the Department of Animal Resources Development in Cheonan, South Chungcheong - which provides sperm from high-quality livestock to farms nationwide, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said yesterday.   There are currently 350 cows, 1,650 pigs and 13,430 poultry (chicken and ducks) at the facility, the ministry said.  The ministry said yesterday that the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service conducted an inspection Saturday on 13 pigs that at showed signs of FMD at the breeding farm. All 13 tested positive.  The South Chungcheong Provincial Office shut down the facility immediately after being told of the outbreak on Saturday and culled the pigs that day. The department said it vaccinated all of its animals in January.

 

U.S. beef imports climb on local FMD outbreak (English, CSY)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931837

Summary: Imports of U.S. beef rose sharply last year as Korea continues a three-month-long battle to contain foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation.  Korea imported 84,822 tons of U.S. beef in 2010, up 42.6 percent from a year earlier. The figure was higher than the overall increase in beef imports, indicating the revived popularity of the American beef, which lost ground in 2008 amid public opposition against U.S. beef imports because of FMD fears. Overall beef imports rose 16.2 percent last year from 2009, according to the group.

 

U.S. beef accounted for 32.5 percent of Korea¡¯s imported beef market last year, up 6 percentage points from 2009, it said. American beef also narrowed its gap with Australian beef, which claimed 53 percent of the market.   As for pork, U.S. imports were the most popular. Korea purchased 75,362 tons of U.S. pork in 2010, accounting for 26.1 percent of the nation¡¯s imported pork consumption. Canadian pork was the runner-up with an 18.9 percent share.

 

S. Korea culls more than 3 mln livestock to control FMD (English, CSY)

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/02/12/0501000000AEN20110202002400320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's quarantine authorities said Wednesday that they ordered the culling of more than 3 million animals to control the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).    The farm ministry said 142 cases of the highly contagious disease have been reported nationwide so far, including an outbreak in Hongseong, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, late Tuesday, after the first outbreak was confirmed on Nov. 29.  It said that while nationwide vaccinations were ordered for all 13 million heads of cattle and pigs in the country, with inoculations administered from Dec. 25 onward, the outbreak is estimated to have caused damage exceeding a minimum 1.5 trillion won (US$1.34 billion), although the number could easily exceed the 2 trillion won mark.   The government has destroyed a total of 148,000 heads of cattle, 2.87 million pigs and over 7,000 goats and deer as the disease has spread across six provinces and two large cities.

 

Wild birds cause of avian flu: Gov¡¯t [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931902

Summary: Migratory wild birds are mainly responsible for the severest outbreak of avian influenza (AI) to hit South Korea, the government said yesterday.  Seoul confirmed its first outbreak of the virulent H5N1 strain on Dec. 31 after some poultry farms reported sudden deaths of animals earlier in the month. It has since ordered the culling of more than 5.41 million birds to stop the spread of the contagious disease.  An analysis of the 40 confirmed cases of bird flu in the country showed contact with wild birds was the primary cause of AI cases, said Joo Yi-seok, head of the Animal Disease Control Bureau at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service.

 

In light of FMD, pigging out has its consequences [English, CSY]

[AN UNHEALTHY FOOD SUPPLY] The dark side of factory farming

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931907

Summary: In Korea, a country where factory farming is prevalent, ethical issues have been raised on the treatment of farm animals and activists have called for increased health and safety standards.  The way farmers treat their animals here has far-reaching implications for animal and human health, and the viability of the industry.  Animal rights activists, veterinarians and professors agree that low social recognition of the importance of farm-animal health and safety has made Korea vulnerable to epidemics, including FMD, which is fatal for cloven-hoofed animals like cows, pigs and deer.   The most recent outbreak of FMD started on Nov. 29 last year in Andong, North Gyeongsang, and in two months it swept through the entire nation - except South Jeolla and Jeju Island.   The central government has faced harsh domestic and international criticism for its response to the outbreak.  In December, after the government ran short of euthanasia drugs used to slaughter livestock, Seoul sent thousands of animals to their death by burying them alive.

 

Additional FMD case found in S. Korea's largest port city [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/05/25/0502000000AEN20110205002500315F.HTML

Summary: South Korea confirmed an additional case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in its largest port city on Monday as quarantine authorities start the second stage of its nationwide vaccination process, the government said Monday.  The case at the pig and goat farm in Busan, which raised 568 animals, brings the total number of officially confirmed FMD outbreaks to 146, after livestock started showing symptoms in late November, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. It is also the first confirmed case in the city located 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

 

Pork Meat Menus Disappear from Restaurants due to High Pork Meat Price [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0302000000AKR20110208082400061.HTML

Summary: According to aT, price of pork meat in retail stores marked W11,010 per 500 gram on Feb. 1, which was 30 percent higher than a year ago.  Many restaurants have reportedly dropped pork meat menus due to the soaring price.  For example, School Foods, a leading franchise quick service Korean restaurant reported that it dropped pork cutlet menus.

 

Extra funds considered to pay for FMD losses [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931958

Summary: The ruling Grand National Party said yesterday it will review all possible measures - including a supplementary budget - to ease the country¡¯s damage from Korea¡¯s worst-ever foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.

¡°The disease has hit the country so hard. We will hold a meeting with the administration [tomorrow] and visit the outbreak sites to conduct an objective survey,¡± said Chung Ok-nim, a spokeswoman for the GNP, shortly after the ruling party¡¯s meeting to come up with a comprehensive measure. ¡°We will actively push forward plans to raise funds required to resolve associated problems.¡±  Chung also quoted GNP floor leader Kim Moo-sung as saying: ¡°If necessary, we will think about creating a supplementary budget. To have specific countermeasures to fight the disease, financial resources are needed, and we will review all possibilities to meet the need.¡±

 

<Column> Regulation: livestock permit system is a necessary vice [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931965

Summary: The livestock permit system has long been used in Denmark and the Netherlands, the forerunners of the livestock industry. But small-scale farmers are strongly opposed to the new regulation. To stop the shameful cycle of burying millions of livestock alive and restore the country¡¯s ¡°FMD free¡± status as soon as possible, extraordinary measures are needed.   Otherwise, our meat market will be flooded with imports. Neighboring China is the largest pig breeder in the world with a total of 460 million heads. Our refrigerators are already filled with meat imports from the United States and Australia. If we don¡¯t take action now, we may have to give up the sweet, sweet taste of Korean beef and pork.

 

U.S. Congress fully supports KORUS FTA – Will continue to raise the beef issue¡±[Korean: BYK]

http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20110209005008

Summary: In an interview with the Seoul Newspaper at USTR, Wendy Cutler explained that the U.S. administration was putting in a lot of efforts to get the KORUS FTA ratified by the U.S. Congress.  In her answer to the question whether the beef issue could come up again during the process of discussing the KORUS FTA with the Congress, she replied that the United States will continue to raise the concern within the United States over the issue of U.S. beef access to the Korean consumers.  When asked if that meant that the U.S. would be asking Korea for a full liberalization of the beef market, she replied that she didn¡¯t have anything further to state about the beef issue other than what she had explained earlier.

 

Japan partially suspends U.S. beef imports [Korean: BYK]

http://mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?category=mbn00008&news_seq_no=1033284

Summary: Japan is partially suspending beef imports from the United States.  They received a shipment of large intestines from a plant in Nebraska which could not be verified whether they were from cattle under 20 months.

 

GNP Considers Additional Budget for FMD [Korean: BYK]

http://www.todaykorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=134585

Summary: The ruling Grand National Party and the Korean Government will meet to discuss whether there is a need to create an additional budget to cope with the ongoing FMD disaster.  They are planning to meet on February 10th to discuss this issue.

 

Korea faces shortage in milk supply [Korean: BYK]

http://biz.heraldm.com/common/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110209000075

Summary: The milk commercials on TV and radio have recently disappeared.  This is because the milk companies have stopped airing advertisements as they are facing a shortage in milk production due to the culling of dairy cattle because of FMD.  The real challenge will be in March when kids return to school and the school milk program begins.  According to this news article, over 34,000 heads of dairy cows have been culled due to FMD.  This accounts for over 7 percent of the total dairy cow population which is around 440,000 heads.  The FMD is also affecting the supply of several pork menus in restaurants, such as pork cutlets, pork feet and Korean style pork sausages.

 

Stock Inventory of No-fat Milk Powder Drops to a 15 Year Low ¡¦ Bakery and Snack Industry Are Worried [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011013112051&sid=010405&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: Stock inventory volume of no-fat milk powder has dropped to 938 tons as of year end 2010, which is the lowest level since 1995.  The sudden decline in the inventory is due to the depopulation of a large number of milk cows under the recent Foot & Mouth Disease outbreak.  Bakery and snack food industry are showing concerns on the issue.  Government has eliminated import tariff on no-fat milk powder (8,000 tons ceiling) earlier this month to stabilize the price.  However, due to the lengthy process involved in the importation of milk powder under the TRQ system, it is likely that traders will face reduced supply of milk powder and rising price for some months to come.

 

Pork prices to be voluntarily set at 6,500 won per kilogram [Korean: BYK]

http://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0102_201102010004520172

Summary: The Korea Swine Association held a press conference on behalf of the swine farmers and stated that they would set a ceiling of 6,500 won per kilogram for pork wholesale prices.  They explained that the reason for such voluntary action was due to the concern that soaring pork prices could not only hurt the lower income people but also the overall pork industry, including pork restaurants, etc.  The association will also urge farmers to slaughter the hogs at 100 kg., rather than the current average of 110 kg., to increase the supply of pork into the market place.

 

Spilled FMD milk leads to stench, supply gap [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932019

Summary: Early fears about the effects of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) have become reality as a milk shortage is hitting the dairy industry. And the shortage comes with irony: local diary farms are being forced to throw away several hundred tons of milk a day as dairy processors suspend production due to a shortage of raw milk.  As the worst outbreak of FMD sweeps the country, dairy farms are the first to struggle. According to the Korea Dairy Committee, some 30,121 dairy cows were culled before the Lunar New Year holidays.   But dairy farms within a 500 meter (1,640 feet) radius of an FMD outbreak are also obligated to throw away all their milk, which could possibly be tainted. Because dairy cows get sick if not milked, farms cannot just stop production. So local farmers milk the cows and then throw it away to the tune of 200 tons a day in February, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. That¡¯s the equivalent of a million 200 milliliter cartons of milk.
 

 

Foot-and-mouth disease breaks out in N. Korea: RFA [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/10/91/0501000000AEN20110210000700320F.HTML

Full text: North Korea has reported an outbreak of the livestock foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease on its soil to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Radio Free Asia said in a report on Thursday.    North Korea's agricultural ministry sent a letter to the U.N. organization on Wednesday, notifying it of the outbreak of the contagious animal disease and asking for emergency support, the media reported, citing a U.N. official.  The official did not mention the region of the outbreak nor the number of livestock that showed FMD symptoms, it added.  The organization will send experts to North Korea "at an appropriate time" to help the reclusive communist country contain the FMD disease, it said.    South Korea has been also battling with the FMD disease that has spread nationwide in the last three months and caused over 3 million livestock to be culled.

 

FMD, bird flu outbreaks inflict huge damage on S. Korea [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/09/0501000000AEN20110209010000320.HTML

Summary: Recent nationwide outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and bird flu are estimated to have cost South Korea 2 trillion won (US$1.8 billion), a government official said Wednesday.  Since the first FMD case was confirmed on Nov. 29, Seoul has culled and buried 3.22 million heads of cattle, pigs, goats and deer, with the number of birds destroyed to combat the avian influenza (AI) hitting 5.41 million since late last year.

 

Serious concern over pollution at culling sites [English, CSY]

Gov¡¯t orders inspections after report finds contaminated water leakage

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932069

Summary: Amid growing, serious concern over water and soil contamination at the burial sites of animals culled in the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak, the government and the ruling party yesterday decided to conduct environmental surveys at all sites nationwide.  The Lee Myung-bak administration and the Grand National Party convened a meeting to discuss the serious environmental concerns. The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security will be in charge of the nationwide surveys, said Representative Kim Young-woo.  A quick reaction department will be created under the military¡¯s chemical, biological and radiological warfare unit to step up the efforts to contain the problems related to the outbreak of FMD as well as avian influenza. The team will work with civilian and government disease control task forces.

 

Foot-and-mouth could stutter FTA schedule [English, MGF]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/02/123_81174.html

Summary:  As Korea continues to be exposed for its ineptitude in containing the foot-and-mouth outbreak, conflict is emerging between ministries over whether the country should go slower in chasing free trade pacts with other economies.  The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries insists that the government should take its foot off the gas pedal in free trade talks, at least until the disease is contained and the damage sustained by livestock farmers is assessed more thoroughly. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance, however, will have none of the argument.

 

Rival Camps to Discuss Assembly Resumption[English, MGF]

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Po_detail.htm?No=79403

Ruling and opposition parties will meet Monday for final coordination on the timetable and agenda for normalizing the extraordinary National Assembly session this month.  FMD will be discussed.

 

N. Korea¡¯s FMD outbreak spreads across country: report [Korean: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110213000334

Summary: North Korea's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has spread across many parts of the country after the first case was confirmed in the capital city on Dec. 25, a U.S. broadcaster said Sunday.  Radio Free Asia (RFA), quoting a report by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, said the communist country confirmed that since the first case hit a small cattle farm in Pyongyang, the highly contagious animal disease has spread to at least five provinces.  While there are no reports of animals being culled and buried, North Korea said 11,165 animals have been infected so far. Of these, 8,640 pigs have died along with 15 cattle, it said.

 

<A Picture>Dairy dilemma [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932150

Milk is displayed at a discount store in Seoul yesterday. Many locals are concerned about the possibility of a milk shortage when students return to school in early March after their extended winter break, which will trigger an increase in demand. The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Korea has affected the milk industry, leading to a decline in supply.
 

 

 

Seoul scraps milk production quota [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932062

Summary: The government announced yesterday a range of measures to stabilize the supply of milk, as foot-and-mouth disease and a colder-than-normal winter are causing decreased milk production. Seoul said that in an effort to boost production, it would scrap a policy it established in 2002 that aimed at reducing milk surpluses.  The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it would reduce tariffs on imported powdered milk, eliminate milk production quotas after production rights are transferred between farmers and consider the import of dairy cattle.  In the short term, the ministry plans to eliminate tariffs on 9,000 tons of powdered milk through June. It also plans to discontinue a reduction in milk production quota for the next two years, after introducing the quota system in 2002. If the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic continues, the ministry said it would consider importing dairy cows from mad-cow-disease free nations including New Zealand and Australia.

 

S. Korea confirms 2 more bird flu outbreaks [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/13/95/0501000000AEN20110213001500320F.HTML

Full text: South Korea on Sunday confirmed two additional bird flu outbreaks in areas near Seoul despite nationwide efforts to stem the spread of the disease.    The farm ministry said the new cases were reported at a medium-sized duck farm and a small poultry farm that raises chickens and ducks, which reported symptoms earlier in the week.    All 8,400 birds on the two farms in Hwaseong south of Seoul and Dongducheon north of the capital have been culled and buried, with other bird farms within a 3-kilometer radius being checked for infections.  The outbreaks are the first to be confirmed since a chicken farm that raised 35,000 birds tested positive for the virulent H5N1 strain on Wednesday, and the 42nd and 43rd outbreaks reported in the past 45 days.  Since Dec. 31 when the first two avian influenza outbreaks were confirmed, Seoul reported cases in five provinces with 5.45 million birds being destroyed at 249 farms so far.  Before the latest series of outbreaks, South Korea was hit by AI three times before, with the last cases occurring in April 2008 and resulting in a record 8.46 million birds being culled at a cost of around 264 billion won (US$235 million). Other outbreaks took place in the winter months of 2003-2004 and 2006-2007.

 

Milk shortage caused by FMD affecting local industries [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/13/30/0501000000AEN20110213001000320F.HTML

Summary: A nationwide milk shortage caused by the severest foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in South Korea's history is affecting local confectionery and dairy industries, corporate sources said Sunday.     Sources from Seoul Milk, Namyang Dairy Product Co. and the Korea Bakers Association said that as of December, the reserves of powdered skim milk stood at just 938 tons or a 77.3 percent drop from 4,137 tons reported a year earlier.  The drop is directly related to the more than 34,000 heads of dairy cattle that were culled and buried since late November when the first FMD was reported in the country.   The animals destroyed account for around 8 percent of total milk cows raised in the country. Seoul has ordered the culling of 3.29 million cattle, pigs, goats and deer so far to contain the FMD outbreak that has spread across most of the country at a cost of at least 2 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) so far.

 

Gov¡¯t goes on high alert over FMD contamination [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932220

Summary: As the public becomes increasingly alarmed over the environmental impact of the mass culling of animals due to foot-and-mouth disease, the government yesterday issued new measures to contain the damage by assigning civil servants to each disposal site for daily inspections.  Following reports of water and soil contamination at the disposal sites of culled animals, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said yesterday that it has issued new guidelines to regional governments to survey the sites daily.  Under the new measures, public servants will be assigned to each site for daily inspection and for managing the sites to prevent water and soil contamination. Deputy mayors and governors will be in charge of the sites near drinking water sources or those found to be vulnerable to leaks.

 

Disgust over FMD gives boost to vegetarianism [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932212

Summary: As worries about foot-and-mouth disease spread, vegetarianism is enjoying new popularity, changing Korea¡¯s negative image of vegetarians as people who are overly picky or obsessed with health.  This trend was obvious at the cafeteria in the Seoul National University Music Department on the afternoon of Feb. 7. The cafeteria serves a vegetarian buffet with main dishes made of grains and vegetables. The menu included Korean corn pancakes, a mushroom and red pepper stir-fry, and rice cake soup. The soup was brewed with mushroom, instead of the conventional beef. There was no meat offered.  There are 50 vegetarian restaurants operating in Seoul. As more people turn to vegetarianism, some go to group meetings and share tips on vegetarian recipes. Vegetarian clubs are already operating at Seoul National, Sogang and Hanyang universities. They usually have meetings at vegetarian restaurants near the schools and run seminars on vegetarianism.

 

S. Korea plans to form FMD task force [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/14/0501000000AEN20110214009400320.HTML

Summary: South Korea will set up a task force to develop new foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) countermeasures to protect the country from future outbreaks, the farm ministry said Monday.  The move comes as the country is grappling with the severest outbreak of the disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals. The disease has spread to six provinces and three major cities since the first case was confirmed on Nov. 29, forcing authorities to cull a record 3.31 million heads of cattle, pigs, goats and deer.

 

<2/11/2011>Seoul to expand tariff quota on pork, powdered milk for price stability [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/11/48/0502000000AEN20110211009600320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea will expand the amount of imported pork and powdered milk subject to its tariff quota system in the latest move to help lower food prices and ease inflationary pressure, a senior finance ministry official said Friday.   "We will expand the amount of imported pork and powered milk subject to the tariff quota system in order to remove market anxiety caused by recent price instability," Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong said at a meeting with senior economic policymakers.  A tariff quota is a quantitative threshold on imports, above which a higher tariff is applied. The lower tariff rate applies to imports within the quota, allowing policymakers to adjust duties on specified merchandise to help control inflationary pressure.  Last month, a tariff quota was imposed on a total of 60,000 tons of pork, cutting import taxes from 25 percent to zero until June.

 

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. 15th.  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.

 

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.

 

Cleanup work begins at Gyeonggi FMD burial sites [English, CSY]

Waste water being extracted in effort to lessen pollution

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932550

Summary: Amid growing fears that the millions of animals buried due to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) will contaminate underground water sources, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government yesterday began extracting waste water from burial sites in Namyangju and Yangpyeong.  As of yesterday, roughly 3.3 million animals nationwide have been culled and some 700,000 of them have been buried at 2,017 sites in Gyeonggi, according to the central government. There are about 4,130 burial sites nationwide.

 

Imports of pork and powdered milk to be raised [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932424

Summary: Korea will ¡°sharply¡± increase the amount of imported 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, a senior finance ministry official said yesterday.  It also plans to add 24 more imported items, including cheese and butter products, to the tariff quota list, bringing 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. Korean imports of U.S. beef almost double in 2010 [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/22/17/0501000000AEN20110222000900320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea's imports of U.S. beef nearly doubled in 2010 from a year earlier due largely to dwindling concerns over its safety here, the government said Tuesday.   The farm ministry said the country imported 125,681 tons of beef from the U.S. last year, up 97 percent from 63,817 tons tallied in 2009.    The total effectively exceeded amounts imported by Seoul before the U.S. beef import ban went into effect in late 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease was reported in the North American country.    South Korea reopened its market to U.S. beef in 2008, although meat can only be provided from animals under 30 months old to alleviate domestic concerns about mad cow disease that can be fatal to humans.    Because of the mad cow scare, there were widespread national protests after Seoul agreed to fully reopen its market, which caused the government to ask Washington for minor modifications to beef trading conditions.

 

Vaccines could have stopped FMD [English, CSY]

But government was preoccupied with maintaining vaccine-free status

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932488

Summary: To protect less than $2 million worth of meat exports, the government has turned the country into a massive graveyard of farm animals.  Since foot-and-mouth disease broke out in November, more than 3.3 million cows and pigs have been slaughtered, livestock farmers have suffered emotionally and the country is stuck with a bill of trillions of won to compensate farmers for culled animals. Much of this could have been avoided if the government had chosen the more effective and less costly solution of vaccination instead of killing cattle and pigs.  But when vaccinations are used, the country loses its vaccine-free status, which makes its meat exports less desirable.

 

FMD-related damages hover around 3 tln won: farm minister [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/24/0501000000AEN20110224011000320.HTML

Summary: Damages caused by the severest foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in South Korea's history hovers at around 3 trillion won (US$2.6 billion), the country's farm minister said Thursday.  In a meeting with reporters, Yoo Jeong-bok said that direct losses to livestock and money used for quarantine efforts and compensation is estimated at around 2 trillion won, with the rest involving environmental corrective measures.

 

PM blames climate, FMD for inflation [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/113_82031.html

Summary: Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik countered the allegation Thursday that a misguided monetary policy was responsible for soaring prices, saying inflation is a combined result of climate change, foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other non-policy factors.  During the National Assembly¡¯s interpellation session, Kim vowed to curb inflation by lowering tariffs and taking other necessary policy measures.  But opposition party lawmakers, including Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), urged him to take firmer action. They called for replacing Cabinet ministers responsible for an allegedly wrong policy package, if necessary.

 

S. Korea to expand tariff quota on powdered milk, pork belly [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/28/25/0502000000AEN20110228002500320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea will expand the amount of powdered milk and frozen pork belly subject to no import taxes as part of efforts to ease price hikes sparked by the massive slaughter of livestock amid the spreading foot-and-mouth disease, the finance ministry said Monday.   The measure, finalized during a Cabinet meeting held earlier in the day, will go into effect from early March under the government's quota tariff system, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

 

A tariff quota is a quantitative threshold on imports, above which a higher tariff is applied. The lower tariff rate applies to imports within the quota, allowing policymakers to adjust duties on specified merchandise to help control inflationary pressure.  Under the latest decision, the government will impose no import duties on 30,000 tons of powdered milk until the end of this year. It earlier sought to apply the tax exemption to 9,000 tons of the product by the end of June.

 

GNP demands dismissal of farm minister over FMD spread [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/28/21/0301000000AEN20110228001700315F.HTML

Summary: The Grand National Party (GNP) has formally asked President Lee Myung-bak to sack his farm minister over one of the worst outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease here, party officials said Monday, as the ruling party struggles to woo voters ahead of the April 27 by-elections.   The demand was delivered to presidential aides in their regular policy coordination meeting with officials at the GNP and the government on Sunday.   "Participants from the GNP requested that the minister for food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Yoo Jeong-bok, take responsibility, as the foot-and-mouth problem has abated somewhat," a senior GNP official told Yonhap News Agency by phone, requesting anonymity.

 

Fresh bird flu strain confirmed in southern area [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/113_82126.html

Full text: About 1,000 ducks found dead earlier this week at a farm in southern South Korea were confirmed Saturday to have been infected with a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza, raising concern that the lethal virus is spreading in the country, officials said.  The H5A1 virus was found on the duck farm in Damyang county of South Jeolla Province, about 350 kilometers south of Seoul, quarantine officials said.  It was the 46th confirmed bird flu outbreak in the country since the first case was reported on Dec. 29. In the past two months, a record 5.5 million birds have been culled.  Quarantine officials at the province said they have been slaughtering about 13,000 ducks at poultry farms in Damyang to try to contain the spread of the virus.   "We are reinforcing quarantine measures to prevent the avian influenza from spreading here," said an official at the South Jeolla provincial government.   The spreading bird disease is a double whammy for South Korea which has been battling what many officials say is the worst-ever outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. (Yonhap)

 

 

Convenience Stores Offer Aggressive Promotions Targeting Valentine Day [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0318000000AKR20110208081300003.HTML

Summary: Major convenience store chains have announced various promotional events targeting Valentine Day (February 14), which has emerged as one of the top three shopping seasons to convenience stores along with White Day (March 14) and PaePaeRo Day (Nov. 11).  Most common promotional tools announced was lottery type events that can win free trips and free gifts.

 

Asahi Beer Sold 1 Million Cases in Korea in 2010 [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/09/0318000000AKR20110209078700003.HTML

Summary: Lotte Asahi, a leading importer of alcohol beverages, reported that the sales of Asahi beer that it imported from Japan exceeded 1 million cases (24 cans x 350 ml per case) in 2010.  The company added that imported beer from Japan should see a rapid sales increase in Korea in the coming year as more beer consumers, in particular young people, are looking for higher quality products.

 

GS Supermarket to Strengthen Internet Store [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/09/0318000000AKR20110209062900003.HTML

Summary: GS Supermarket, a leading grocery supermarket chain, announced on February 10 that it has launched a new internet store site to strengthen the on-line business.  Its new internet supermarket (www.gsisuper.co.kr) offers twice more products than its old internet store, which covers over 90 percent of the products sold in its conventional stores.  The new store also features speedier home delivery service.  Orders placed before 6:00 p.m. will be delivered within 3 hours.  Same day delivery service is provided to the entire Seoul metropolitan area.  To encourage more consumers to use the internet store, the store offers much stronger compensations for any problem in the quality of product sold and failure to meet the delivery time.

 

CJ O Shopping to Enter Vietnam Market [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/09/0318000000AKR20110209055700003.HTML

Summary: CJ O Shopping, a leading TV home shopping company in Korea, announced on Feb. 9 that it has earned an approval from the Vietnamese government to start a TV home shopping business in Vietnam.  CJ earlier set up a joint venture company with the leading Vietnamese cable TV service provider to launch the TV home shopping business in Vietnam.  CJ is the first Korean company to enter the Vietnamese market.  President of CJ O Shopping commented that the company will seek additional opportunity to expand into other south Asian markets in the coming year.

 

Fair Trade Committee to Introduce ¡®Fair Trade Bill on Large-scale Retail Business¡¯ [Korean, OSY]

http://news.mk.co.kr/v3/view.php?sc=30000002&cm=%B8%C5%B0%E6%20%C1%D6%BF%E4%B1%E2%BB%E7&year=2011&no=84159&relatedcode=&sID=300

Summary: In a meeting between the Fair Trade Committee and the presidents of 9 leading retail companies held on February 9, committee chairperson Dongsoo Kim announced that the government plans to introduce a new bill that intends to regulate the way large-scale retailers transact with suppliers.  According to Mr. Kim, the bill are likely to include key ¡®fair trade measures¡¯ such as limiting of returning unsold products to the suppliers and 40 day payment due.  Presidents of retail companies expressed concerns at the meeting.  Mr. Kim also added that the committee will disclose the distribution mark up taken by large retailers every six months.

 

Drink with Straw ¡¦ Small Volume, Low Alcohol Wines Get Popular [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/Market/3/0108/20110211/34760385/1

Summary: One of the most popular trends in the local wine market is increased attention on small volume, low alcohol wines that target young ladies.  Many of the products are added with fruit juices for lower alcohol content and are packaged in non-traditional ways for different look from traditional wines.
 

 

Large Volume Packages Lead Sales Growth of On-line Grocery Retailers [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/13/0318000000AKR20110213051600003.HTML?audio=Y

Summary: According to G-Market, a leading on-line grocery open market provider in Korea, sales of large volume packages showed higher growth than small volume packages.  For example, sales of 20 kg bag rice rose 18 percent so far this year compared to the same period last year, while sales of 10 kg bag rose 13 percent.  Sales of smaller packages such as 1 kg bag showed a decline.  G-Mart commented that consumers of on-line grocery stores prefer large volume packages for delivery fee exemption as well as for lower unit cost.

 

Number of Korean Women with Job to Reach 10 Million Soon [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/14/0301000000AKR20110214166000002.HTML

Summary: Ministry of Women & Family reported that the number of women with job reached 9.9 million in Korea in 2010, up by 142,000 from the previous year.  The number of women with job has continued a steady increase over the years.  In particular, the number of women with professional jobs has increased more rapidly, reaching 2 million in 2010.  In other words, 21 percent of women with job were in professional jobs.

 

Lotte Department Store to Reduce Sales Mark-up by 1 to 5 Percent [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/14/0302000000AKR20110214208800003.HTML

Summary: Lotte Department Store, the leading department store chain in Korea, announced on Feb. 14 that it will reduce the sales mark-up that it collects from the suppliers and tenant retailers by as much as 5 percent.  The announcement followed the meeting between the Fair Trade Committee and the leading retail companies on Feb. 9.  According to the industry sources, average mark-up taken by retailers is 25.6 percent for department stores; 24.3 percent for hypermarkets; and 32.5 percent for TV home shopping companies.

 

Entry of SSM into a Traditional Market Zone Denied for the First Time [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/15/0318000000AKR20110215069800055.HTML

A plan to open a Super Supermarket (SSM) store in Gimje city (Junbook province) was denied by the city government based on the Retail Industry Development Act introduced in November 2010.  The act prohibits opening of stores by large-scale retailers within 500 meters from designated ¡®traditional market zones¡¯.  This was the first case that the act made a real effect and is likely to be reflected on pending cases in other cities.

 

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.

 

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.

 

S. Korea's farm imports from U.S. top US$5.3 bln in 2010 [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/21/0502000000AEN20110221004600320.HTML

Summary: South Korea imported US$5.30 billion worth of farm products from the United States in 2010, making it the sixth largest importer of grain and meat products from America in the world, the government said Monday.  The total marked the second largest annual import figure after the $5.56 billion reported in 2008, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a report.

 

Domino Pizza Korea Drops ¡°Within 30 Minute Delivery Policy¡± [Korean, OSY]

http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201102222115185&code=990101

Summary: Domino Pizza Korea announced no Feb. 21 that it would no longer maintain ¡°30 minute delivery¡± policy that it had offered since 1990.  The announcement reflects the negative image drawn on the service by a recent death of an auto-bike pizza deliveryman.  Pizza Hut Korea also made a change in its delivery policy in that it replaced ¡°within 30 minute delivery¡± with ¡°baking within 14 minutes of order¡±.

 

¡°Ashuly Seeks to Become the Leading Restaurant Chain in Korea¡± [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/Market/3/0108/20110222/35041418/1

Summary: K.Y. Hong, president of Ashuly, the restaurant business arm under E. Land Retail Group, said in a press interview on Feb. 22 that Ashuly would continue an aggressive expansion through the coming year by adding 50 new outlets within 2011 alone.  Mr. Hong added that the expansion goal for this year should make Ashuly the largest restaurant chain in Korea by the end of 2011.  The current leader in local restaurant business is VIPS under CJ Foodville (W300 billion of sales in 2010).  Ashuly¡¯s annual sales in 2010 was W151 billion.

 

Koreans' Preference for Domestic Food Products [English, CSY]

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=112965&code=Ne2&category=2

Full text: A new survey shows that more than half of Korean consumers prefer domestic food products to imported ones.  The Korea Chamber of Commerce survey of 1,5-hundred people conducted last year found that nearly 54-percent of respondents would buy Korean food products rather than imported ones even when the price of Korean-made food is high.  Around 31-percent said that it would depend on the item, while only 15-percent said that they had no preference.  Despite the chamber's findings, the amount of imported food consumed in Korea has risen sharply in recent years.  The chamber, however, is calling for stronger measures to ease public concerns about the safety of some imported food products.

 

Jonny Rockets to Open its First Store in Korea in Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/24/0318000000AKR20110224065600003.HTML

Jonny Rockets, an American premium hamburger restaurant chain, will open its first store in Korea in Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam on February 25, according to the local partner Shinsegae Food Co.  Jonny Rockets, established in 1986, now operates 300 stores in 12 countries.  Shinsegae Food plans to open another store in Paju next month.

 

Food materials sector bears the brunt [English, CSY, MJF]

[NEWS IN FOCUS] Government policy prevents companies from raising prices, causing massive losses

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932788

Summary: Soaring prices of agricultural commodities around the world are threatening to shake the pecking order of the local food industry.   Korea¡¯s food materials sector has reported poor performances across the board. However, food processors that use the sugar, flour and other ingredients provided by the materials sector have fared comparatively well.  The discrepancy comes from a government policy that has sought to restrain fast-rising consumer prices by regulating materials sellers, but not processors.  According to a Financial Supervisory Service financial records system, materials firms such as sugar and flour manufacturers are down and out, while processors such as confectioneries and beverage makers are gaining ground.
 

 

Mixed Feed Price Soars as High as 8.1 Percent [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022534931&sid=0104&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: Local suppliers of mixed feed products for cattle and swine have increased the retail prices as high as 8.1 percent in February.  Suppliers explained that the price increase was due to the rising price of raw ingredients, including corn, wheat, and soy meal, in the international market.

 

Local Retailers in Price War with Fresh Octopus Imported from Thailand [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022534241&sid=0104&nid=004&ltype=1

Summary: While leading department stores and hypermarkets have launched sales promotion around fresh octopus imported from Thailand earlier last week, retailers are competing each other to attract more consumers.  E-Mart is selling the octopus at 1,080 won per 100 g, which is about half the price of local octopus.  HomePlus has set its price at 1,070 won per 100 gram.  Lotte Department store has reduced the price down to 1,000 won per 100 g in return.

  
 

Rice aid in NK`s black markets (English, CSY)

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2011020738898

Summary: The liberal Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations of South Korea provided North Korea with 400,000 to 500,000 tons of food aid per year to help ease food shortages. The North consumes an estimated 5.3 million tons of grain per year but produces just 4.2 million tons, incurring a deficit of 1 million tons every year. Food that Seoul provided to Pyongyang accounted for half of the deficit and hence was expected to significantly ease the hunger of North Koreans. No signs appeared, however, that the North Korean people benefited from South Korean food aid, a situation that posed a puzzle.

 

John Everard, who served as British ambassador to Pyongyang for two and half years from February 2006, has presented a clue to this puzzle. He told a seminar hosted by Korea Economic Institute of America in Washington that rice in sacks with labels marked "Republic of (South) Korea" or "World Food Program" was traded openly at black markets in North Korea. Food that South Korea and international aid organizations gave to the North are traded in black markets after being embezzled by those in power, including the Kim Jong Il family and power elites of the ruling Workers¡¯ Party and military, rather than being distributed to North Koreans. This means the North`s power elite has been reaping double profits by taking advantage of the hunger of its impoverished people.

 

Will US resume food aid to NK? [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/113_81017.html

Summary: The U.S. official¡¯s remarks sparked speculation that Washington is gearing up for the resumption of food aid to North Korea, which has been halted since March 2009.  A government official told reporters that King and senior foreign ministry officials have not discussed aid for the North, saying they mainly exchanged information regarding the food situation there.   Despite the denial, the speculation that the United States could consider resuming food aid to hasn¡¯t stopped. This comes against the backdrop of a press report that discussions about restarting donations of food to the impoverished North were underway in Washington.

 

The United States has no plan to provide DPRK with humanitarian food aid at present.  (CSC: Korean)

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/06/2011020600102.html

 

N. Korea's FMD outbreak spreads across country: report [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/13/38/0302000000AEN20110213002600320F.HTML

Summary: North Korea's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has spread across many parts of the country after the first case was confirmed in the capital city on Dec. 25, a U.S. broadcaster said Sunday.   Radio Free Asia (RFA), quoting a report by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health, said the communist country confirmed that since the first case hit a small cattle farm in Pyongyang, the highly contagious animal disease has spread to at least five provinces.   While there are no reports of animals being culled and buried to control further spreading of the disease, North Korea said 11,165 animals have been infected so far. Of these, 8,640 pigs have died along with 15 cattle, it said.  RFA also said that quarantine authorities had moved to vaccinate animals, but the locally produced drugs used had little effect in slowing down the disease. It added that emergency quarantine measures have been ordered to combat the spread of the animal disease that can be transmitted through the air.

 

Seoul Tightens Border Quarantine after FMD Outbreak in NK [English, MGF]

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_IK_detail.htm?No=79401

South Korea has tightened quarantine inspections on automobiles and personnel crossing the inter-Korean border following North Korea¡¯s confirmation of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

 

FT: Inflation, Food Shortage Threatening NK Regime [English, MGF]

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_IK_detail.htm?No=79387

The Financial Times says that North Korea is suffering from serious inflation that is threatening the existence of the communist country. The newspaper quoted Japan-based news outlets on North Korea as saying that the price of rice surged from 12-hundred won per kilogram to 25-hundred won in just a month.  The report said that the current food shortage is as serious as the food crisis in the 1990s during which two million North Koreans died from starvation and the North Korean regime was on the verge of collapse.

 

 

WFP, FAO Launch Food Inspection in NK  [English, MGF]

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_IK_detail.htm?No=79385

The Voice of America (VOA) is reporting that North Korea has allowed international organizations to look into its food situation even in regions where outside aid groups had been denied access.  Kisan Gunjal, an official from the U.N.¡¯s Food and Agriculture Organization, told the broadcaster that workers from the World Food Program (WFP) began an investigation into the food situation in North Korea on Thursday.  He added that workers from other international organizations will join the WFP team on February 20th for a food inspection in regions where WFP workers had never been allowed. The WFP and FAO are planning to complete the food inspection by March 12th at the request of North Korean authorities.

 
 

Gov't considers delaying back-to-school day to curb animal diseases (English, CSY)

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/06/3/0501000000AEN20110206003100320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea is considering an extension of winter break for most schools to reduce the continuing spread of animal diseases that have already led to the culling of millions of livestock, the government said Sunday.   The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said it has issued a special dispatch to all regional education offices to consider delaying the reopening of schools, especially in areas where the animal diseases are most rampant.

 

Carbon credit system won¡¯t be too rigid, says Lee [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931904

Summary: President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday that a carbon-emissions trading system will be pursued flexibly, a potential sign of retreat from the centerpiece of his green growth strategy.  ¡°We¡¯ll fully reflect the opinions of the business community when we introduce carbon emissions trading,¡± Lee said in a biweekly radio address yesterday. ¡°The government will implement the system in a flexible manner reflecting international trends and the industrial competitiveness of the country.  ¡°There are concerns that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could place an extra burden on our economy.¡±  But Lee also said that the system¡¯s introduction is inevitable. ¡°If we have to walk the path, we¡¯d better do it faster than others,¡± he said.

 

 

Lee suggests creation of task force on food crisis [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/07/0502000000AEN20110207003800315.HTML

Summary: President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that South Korea needs to create a government-civilian task force to study ways for securing the stable supply of food, citing the risk of a new global food crisis attributable to climate change.  "Chances are growing that the entire world will suffer a food crisis due to climate change," Lee's spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung quoted him as saying in a weekly meeting with his senior secretaries. "We should set up a pan-governmental strategy on (the supply of) agricultural and fishery products and conduct (related) research."   Lee proposed the formation of a national organization composed of government officials and civilian experts to deal with the issue, according to the spokeswoman.

 

Environmental disaster [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/02/137_80940.html

Summary: Korea faces one of the worst environmental disasters following the burial of more than three million pigs and cows infected with foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease. Remedial action is urgent. No action will be deadly and costly.  Environment Minister Lee Maan-ee made the grotesque warning Monday. An initial survey of the 90 selected burial sites showed that 68 percent of them may collapse. It means that nearly 70 percent of the 4,000 sites will either cave in or contaminate water sources.

 

The minister warns the economic, social, cultural and environmental damage of the haphazard burials is beyond anybody¡¯s imagination. Koreans might face unprecedented water contamination.  Once spring comes, the frozen underground corpses may melt, and the culled animals will start to rot. This will inevitably contaminate water and farming land, and ultimately damage the people. Downpours and floods will wash away the burial mounds and the decayed animals.

 

Busan Fishery Auction Market Set a Record High Sale due to Good Catch of Squid [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0318000000AKR20110208081300003.HTML

Summary: Busan Fishery Auction Market reported that the auction sales in January 2011 amounted to W55 billion (22,263 tons), a record high since 1969.  The surge of sales was mainly due to a good catch of squid from near sea water.

 

U.S. envoy implies discussing aid to North Korea [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110208000717

Summary: The U.S. and South Korea are working closely together to coordinate policies on ¡°tricky issues,¡± a visiting U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights said Tuesday, indicating the allies¡¯ ongoing discussions over whether to send food aid to the impoverished state.  Special envoy Robert King arrived here Sunday for talks with South Korea¡¯s foreign and unification ministry officials as recent reports say Pyongyang asked Washington for assistance with food.  The U.S. has said it has no immediate plans to send aid, a position that could change as regional powers seek to resume peace talks with the nuclear-armed North Korea, analysts say. 

 

Carbon trading plan losing momentum [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110208000882

Summary: Seoul to delay scheme in the face of business opposition:  President Lee Myung-bak¡¯s green growth initiative faces a setback as the government is poised to postpone introducing the carbon trading system amid tough opposition from businesses.  On Monday Lee said the government plans to implement the scheme in a flexible manner, considering ¡°international trends and industrial competitiveness.¡±   His remark came as business organizations voiced their opposition, warning of surging costs and damage to their competiveness. The scheme is losing steam globally with major countries delaying their own national plans.   Top policymakers will meet Wednesday to finalize their position.

 

Democratic Party states that it will normalize the operation of the National Assembly in February [Korean: BYK]

http://www.sisaseoul.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=37484

Summary: Ji Won Park, Floor Leader for the Democratic Party, stated that he would try to get the National Assembly to normalize its operation I February so that the pending bills can be addressed.  However, he made this comment under the condition that the President and the Speaker of the National Assembly need to show some kind of sincerity regarding the 2011 budget that was approved unilaterally by the ruling party in December 2010.

 

¡®Gim¡¯ Seaweed Production in Junra-nam-do Province likely to be Record Low This Year due to Cold Weather [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0318000000AKR20110208189700054.HTML

Summary: Korea Maritime Institute Mokpo branch reported that due to the cold weather this winter, production of ¡®Gim¡¯ seaweed from Junra-nam-do province (the southwestern sea of Korean peninsula) is likely to down by 90 percent from last year.  According to the institute, average sea temperature during this winter was 2.7 degree Celsius lower than last year.

 

CJ Group makes headway overseas [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932002

Summary: Two subsidiaries of CJ Group have established footholds in foreign markets as part of the group¡¯s push to increase its global presence.   CJ Cheiljedang, the leading food and bio-product manufacturer, announced yesterday that it has signed a deal to supply instant steamed rice and other food products to Costco Mexico, the Mexican unit of Costco Wholesale.   Products already available at Costco Mexico¡¯s 32 outlets include instant rice bowl HetBahn, which was first exported to Costco Mexico last August. CJ Cheiljedang will also supply the retail chain with BBQ sauce and dumplings.   CJ Cheiljedang also expects to sign a deal with Sam¡¯s Club - a Wal-Mart affiliate with roughly 170 outlets in Mexico - to supply products this year. It forecasts revenue of $6 million from exports to Mexico in 2011.

 

Farm subsidy fraud [English, CSY]

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2011021112888

Summary: The government spent more than 127 trillion won (113.34 billion dollars) for agriculture in the form of subsidies or loans from 1992 through 2007. Despite the huge investment, Korean agriculture is still globally uncompetitive, and farmer incomes have risen little. This is the failure of agricultural populism in ignoring economic efficiency for the sake of political considerations.   Moral hazard, waste, corruption and collusion are closely related to farm subsidies. Only about five percent of farmers are estimated to benefit from subsidies or low-interest loans. Certain farmers care nothing about farming but are busy lobbying and entertaining government officials who have the authority to allocate subsidies. That is why farmers deplorably say, ¡°Do you farm at a waterhole or a cafe?¡±

 

S. Korea, Canada to expand 'green energy' cooperation [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/14/17/0501000000AEN20110214000900320F.HTML

Full text: South Korea and Canada agreed to expand technology cooperation in the eco-friendly "green energy" sector, the government said Monday.   The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada's Ministry of Natural Resources in Seoul that aims to promote joint projects that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.   "Both sides agreed to engage in projects in such areas as carbon capture, development of clean, renewable energy technologies, eco-friendly combined heat and power plants, green cars, and smart grids," it said.    Seoul and Ottawa want to draw up a detailed plan for joint research and development, and to commence work within the year, the ministry added.

 

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 18th through March 12th 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. 24th through March 2nd to hold a Q&A session. 

 

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.

 

Korea & Japan: 2011 Annual Fish Quota Set at 60,000t [English, CSY]

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=112866&code=Ne2&category=2

Full text: Korea and Japan have agreed to set their annual fishing quotas at 60-thousand tons this year.  The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said Monday that the two countries have also agreed to reduce the number of fishing boats from 900 to 870.  The two sides have put a 3-year hold on the policy of keeping GPS-based tracks of the fishing vessels which was supposed to be mandatory from next month and also removed the policy of recording the amount of fish caught at the point of boat inspection.  The ministry says that the new agreements will promote more active fishing operations.

 

Korea Trails Developed Nations in Food Security [English, CSY]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/21/2011022101221.html

Summary: Korea scored the lowest in terms of food security among 33 advanced economies in the International Monetary Fund. According to a chart cited in an Op-Ed column in the New York Times on Saturday, Korea had the largest number of respondents who felt food insecurity. The chart also compared income disparity, unemployment rate, level of democracy, wellbeing, life expectancy at birth, prison population and student performance in math and science.  In Korea, 16 percent of respondents said they had been short of money to buy food in the past 12 months, the most along with the U.S. Countries with strong welfare programs such as Singapore, Denmark and Switzerland scored high in terms of food security.

 

'Tripple whammy' hits farmers [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/02/123_81751.html

Summary: Koreans have time-honored beliefs that misfortune never comes alone ¡ª they tend to believe that the worst-case scenario is when three disasters devastate all involved.  That seems to be the case for domestic farmers this winter when three catastrophes happened with the rapid spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), avian influenza, and heavy snowfall creating the perfect storm.   The triple woes are likely to negatively affect the foundations of the farming industry because they have already claimed the lives of so many cows, pigs and hens, consequently reducing output of other agricultural produce.

 

According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. (aT), the price of pork rocketed by 37.9 percent from a year ago as of the end of last week. That of chicken also jumped 24.5 percent over the same period.  With the appreciation of meat values due to the two rampant diseases, consumers have been prompted to turn to seafood and the increased demand has also caused similar price hikes. For example, the price of mackerel has leapt 42 percent from a year ago.

 

Price of seafood has skyrocketed [English, CSY]

Nearly 50 percent increase noted

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932584

Summary: As the cost of fresh produce continues to climb, the prices of widely consumed seafood such as squid, mackerel, yellow corvina and hairtail have all risen by up to nearly 50 percent, putting a further strain on citizens¡¯ pocketbooks.  Experts point to a domino effect from a shrunken meat supply due to foot-and-mouth disease driving up demand for seafood, plus unusually low temperatures in both the East and South seas, diminishing the amount of fish caught.  According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. (aT) yesterday, each squid currently costs 2,898 won ($2.57) at the retail level, up 48.7 percent from 1,949 won a year ago.

 

Gov¡¯t sets sights on renewable energy [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932591

Full text: Korea plans to spend 48 billion won over the next three years to support local renewable energy test projects, the government said yesterday.   The move calls for supporting test programs in solar and wind power generation fields, fuel cell sectors and research and development of parts and materials, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.  Of the total to be spent up until 2013, 20 billion won will be used this year, the ministry said.  ¡°Money will be used to test and certify new products made locally so they can be sold commercially, and to create a domestic market for renewable energy resources,¡± it said.

 

Imported Seafood Takes over Dining Table due to Fish-flation [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/Market/3/0108/20110223/35073620/1

Summary: A recent visit to Noryangjin Fishery Market revealed that imported seafood accounted for much of the seafood supply in Korea these days.  It was hard to find local seafood in the market.  Traders commented that due to the rising price and decreasing supply, local seafood was loosing market share.  According to Shinsegae E-Mart, imported seafood accounted for 25 percent of total seafood sales of the store as of February 2011, sharply up from 20 percent in 2010 and 17 percent in 2009.  Lotte Department Store is currently selling small octopus (live) imported from Thailand which is shipped through air freight.  Despite the high cost of air freight, the retail price of this Thailand octopus (1,216 won per 100 gram) is much cheaper than local octopus (1,933 won per 100 gram). 

 

Carrefour China Faces Challenges [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011022345591&nid=000&ltype=1

Carrefour China, the largest foreign-owned hypermarket store chain in China (operates a total of 182 stores) has closed seven stores over the last six months due to sluggish sales.  Carrefour China has been under attack by consumer groups and local authorities for taking too much mark ups and not paying enough to its employees.  Eleven of the stores under Carrefour China were charged with a total of 500,000 Wien of fine for deceiving prices last month.  The changing business environment in China is presenting new challenges to foreign retailers.  
 

First whiskey festival draws diverse crowd [English, MJF]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2932790

Summary: Yesterday morning, 1,200 participants started tasting and viewing expensive single malts and blends from nearly 50 whiskey brands. Glitzy and sleek booths displayed spirits that definitely skewed toward the high-end, ranging from 12 to 35 years old.

 

 

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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Agricultural Trade Office, U.S. Embassy - Seoul
Tel: 82-2-6951-6848 Fax: 82-2-720-7921
Email: atoseoul@state.gov