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Food News Clipping

March 15, 2011

2011.03.15

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: March Tuesday 15, 2011

For Coverage: March 14 - 15, 2011

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

U.S. Senate GOP Calls for Ratification of 3 FTA Deals Including One with S. Korea [Korean: BYK]

Summary: Including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 44 Senate Republicans issued a warning on Monday, local time, that they will block a vote on any high-level trade nomination, including President Barack Obama’s Commerce Secretary pick, until the president submits to Congress bilateral trade agreements between South Korea, Colombia, Panama and the U.S. If all three trade agreements make their way into Congress, confirmation of trade nominees will go smoothly, said McConnell along with Orrin Hatch from Utah and Rob Portman from Ohio in a press conference to mount pressures on the Obama administration. McConnell said he will vote for the free trade agreement (FTA) between Korea and the U.S. because he does support the deal. He insisted that the administration must show its willingness to ratify the other two agreements.

2. ECONOMIC ISSUES

S. Korea's import price growth hits 2-year high in Feb. [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/14/0200000000AEN20110314009500320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's import prices rose at the steepest pace in two years in February on a hike in oil and commodity costs, the central bank said Tuesday, indicating a buildup in growing inflationary pressure.
In local currency terms, the country's import prices jumped 16.9 percent in February from a year earlier, accelerating from a 14.1 percent on-year expansion in January, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Seoul to closely monitor commodity prices after Japan quake [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/03/14/0501000000AEN20110314010800320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government will keep close tabs on international grain prices and the energy supply situation following last week's massive quake that devastated Japan, a senior official said Monday.

Vice Finance Minister Yim Jong-yong said in a meeting with lawmakers that Seoul is preparing for all contingencies, including sudden spikes in grain prices and energy costs, as Japan, the world's third-largest economy, tries to cope with the natural disaster.

Japan quake feared to fuel S. Korean inflation [English, OYS]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/list.asp?cat_code=030201

Summary: Japan's massive earthquake and tsunami could fuel South Korea's inflationary pressure due to higher prices for oil, gas and steel products, officials and industry sources said Monday. Sources at the finance, knowledge economy and farm ministries,

3. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Seoul to spend 814 bln won on 'golden seed' project [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/03/14/0502000000AEN20110314005000320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to spend 814 billion won (US$722.4 million) over the next 10 years to develop more than 20 important seeds that could fuel growth of the country's seed industry, the government said Monday.

The 2012-2021 plan calls for the development of key plant seeds that can have the greatest impact on the global market and promote the country's ability to cope with climate change and food security issues, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.

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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