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Food News Clipping

March 16, 2011

2011.03.16

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues
Today's Date:   March Wednesday 16, 2011
For Coverage:  March 15 - 16, 2011
 
 
1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES
 

Obama soon to submit Korea FTA to Congress ahead of deals with Colombia, Panama: White House [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/03/16/13/0301000000AEN20110316000100315F.HTML

Summary: Against pressure from Congress, the Obama administration Tuesday vowed to submit a pending free trade deal with South Korea soon and take time to address outstanding issues with similar deals with Panama and Colombia.

 

S. Korea, Peru to sign free trade deal next week [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/16/0200000000AEN20110316004900320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Peru will sign a free trade deal next week, the latest trade pact that could pave the way for Asia's fourth-largest economy to tap deeper into the South American region, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.
The trade ministers from both sides will sign the free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on Monday, the ministry said. Both countries struck the deal in August last year.
 

2. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

 

Animal Health Committee States that there is no problem in importing Canadian beef UTM [Korean: BYK]

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=100&oid=003&aid=0003745326

Summary: The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (MIFAFF) announced that the experts in Korea had reached a conclusion that it would not be problematic to import Canadian beef, despite the finding of the 18th case of BSE in Canada last month.  MIFAFF held the Animal Health Committee composed of experts from the consumer and producer organizations, professors, government officials, etc. on March 15th and reached such conclusion after discussing the issue of importing Canadian beef.     
 

3. MARKETING ISSUES

 

Shinsegae to Open Its 2nd Outlet Shopping Mall in Paju on March 18 [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/03/15/0318000000AKR20110315195500060.HTML?audio=Y

Summary: Shinsegae Co. announced that its second ¡®Chelsi¡¯ outlet shopping mall will open in Paju city on March 18.  The mall is built on 86,000 sq. meter space and houses 160 stores, most of which sell premium luxury brand goods.  Shinsegae expects that the mall will attract over 4 million customers a year.

 

Chinese Provincial Government Warns that It Will Cancel Wal-Mart China¡¯s Business License if the Chain Continues to Violate Food Safety Laws [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/03/15/0318000000AKR20110315177900097.HTML

Summary: Chungtsing city government official reportedly stated on March 15 that it would consider canceling business license of Wal-Mart stores in the region if the chain does not make enough efforts to fix reported food safety problems.  Several stores under Wal-Mart in the region violated local food safety regulations, including selling expired duck meat earlier this month.  

 

Tropical Fruit Farms in Southern Region of Korea Hit by Frost [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/03/15/0318000000AKR20110315070600054.HTML

According to Youngam regional government, local farms that grow tropical fruits such as figs were hit by frost earlier this month.  The damage was very serious and may result in 50 percent decline in total harvest of related fruits later this year, added the regional government.
 
4. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
 

Coffee Imports on the Rise [English, CSY]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/03/11/2011031101093.html

Full text: The number of coffee drinkers in Korea is rapidly increasing, and the country is now among the top 10 coffee consuming nations in the world.  Coffee imports rose 10 percent last year to some US$420 million or 117,000 tons. This is about 312 cups of coffee per person each year, up 59 cups from four years ago.  The beverage only became popular in Korea about 50 years ago. There was a time when people boycotted coffee altogether, but these events eventually led to a larger movement to create a unique coffee culture here.   Some complain that coffee prices are too expensive considering the cost of production. However, they also acknowledge that coffee is more than a drink. Korea's unique coffee culture blends the consumption of instant coffee, espresso, and drip coffee.

 

S. Korea to tighten radiation tests on Japanese food imports [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/03/15/31/0501000000AEN20110315008700320F.HTML

Summary: South Korea will tighten radiation inspections of Japanese meat and fisheries imports after radioactive materials leaked from a crippled nuclear plant, the government said Tuesday.  The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that all 17 fisheries and meat products imported from Japan will be checked for radiation along with fish caught in waters that may have been contaminated by radioactive materials released from reactors at the Fukushima power plant on the northeastern coast of Honshu Island.

 

 

 
 

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