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Food News Clipping

March 29, 2011

2011.03.30

FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: March Tuesday 29, 2011

For Coverage: March 28 - 29, 2011

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

U.S. businesses call for early ratification of Korea FTA [English, CSY, OSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/03/29/56/0301000000AEN20110329001200315F.HTML

Summary: A leading U.S. business lobby Monday called for early congressional approval of the pending free trade deal with South Korea to prop up exports and jobs. "The Korea FTA is a no-cost way to create jobs and grow the economy," Tami Overby, vice president for Asia affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told a gathering of local government and business leaders in Orlando, Florida, according to a statement released by the chamber. "The way to meet the goal of doubling exports over the next five years is by passing this agreement."

Gov't to again submit revised version of S. Korea-EU FTA: lawmaker [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/03/29/82/0301000000AEN20110329001400315F.HTML

Summary: The trade ministry has decided to resubmit a ratification motion for the South Korea-European Union (EU) free trade agreement to the parliament after correcting additional translation errors found in the Korean language version of the pact, a chief lawmaker said Tuesday.

S. Korea's market share in Chile doubles following FTA: report [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/29/0200000000AEN20110329002800320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korean exports' market share in Chile has more than doubled since the countries implemented a free trade agreement (FTA) seven years ago, offering a glimpse into potential benefits from additional trade deals with other countries, a report said Tuesday.
Exports to the South American nation have been surging at an annual average of 33.9 percent since the Korea-Chile FTA took effect in July 2004, with imports from Chile jumping 26.8 percent, according to the report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

2. MARKETING ISSUES

China's new economic plan poses challenge for S. Korea: report [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/29/0200000000AEN20110329002300320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) --

China

's drive to develop and expand its domestic market offers new challenges and opportunities for South Korean exporters, a report said Tuesday.

China adopted a new five-year economic development plan at the recently concluded National People's Congress, which focuses on lowering its annual economic growth to about 7 percent and expanding domestic demand.

3. NORTH KOREA ISSUES

S. Korea does not oppose humanitarian food aid to N. Korea: Rep. Chung [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/29/0200000000AEN20110329000900315.HTML
Summary: WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea does not oppose providing humanitarian food aid to North Korea as the communist country suffers from severe food shortages due to a poor harvest last year, a senior South Korean lawmaker said Monday.
Speaking to a forum here, Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the ruling Grand National Party said, "Nobody in South Korea opposes humanitarian aid to North Korea by South Korea or the U.S.," but added, "We don't want to give the wrong message to North Korea as we have done until recently."
Chung, the former GNP head, was apparently referring to the former liberal South Korean presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung, who provided hundreds of thousands of tons of both food and fertilizer to North Korea every year despite Pyongyang's continued development of nuclear weapons and missiles.

U.S. urges N. Korea to mend ties with S. Korea before 6-way talks: Einhorn [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/29/0200000000AEN20110329000100315.HTML

Summary: WASHINGTON, March 28 (Yonhap) -- The United States Monday repeated calls on North Korea to mend ties with South Korea before moving on to the next rounds of international talks on the North's nuclear dismantlement.
"Whatever discussions take place on an unofficial level, the important thing is for the North and South to sit down, for the North to be responsive to South Korea's concerns about the provocative actions they took in 2010," Robert Einhorn, the State Department's special adviser for nonproliferation and arms control, told reporters after attending a forum here sponsored by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

4. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Korea to check foods for radiation [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2934057

Summary: Korea will carry out detailed checks on all Japanese fishery and meat products for radiation contamination to better protect public health, the government said yesterday. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said every shipment of such products as eel, pollack, saury and mackerel will be checked to see if they have been contaminated.

S. Korea eyes US$7.6 bln of farm, fish exports [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/03/29/0200000000AEN20110329004300320.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea aims to export US$7.6 billion worth of farm and fisheries products this year through aggressive marketing and enhanced quality control, the government said Tuesday.
The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the target represents a 29.3 percent on-year gain from the record $5.88 billion shipped out in 2010.

High-flying sales reported at Incheon [English, OYS]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2934078

Summary: Incheon International Airport is not only the best airport in terms of service quality but also ranks high in terms of shopping, according to industry statistics. The airport is known for its world-class shopping, offering stores with top luxury brands, upscale cafes and bookstores, selling a myriad of goods, from cosmetics to traditional Korean foods such as kimchi and seaweed, all neatly packed up for air travel.

March 26 marked the 10th anniversary of the airport, which was ranked by Airports Council International as the best airport in the world for service for six consecutive years.

The airport’s duty-free mall ranks third in the world, following Dubai International Airport and London’s Heathrow International Airport, according to Airstar Avenue, which represents a group of businesses at Incheon, in a report it released yesterday.

GNP gloomy about keeping majority [English, OYS]

Worsening economic climate cited as reason for possible losses: Survey

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2934081

Summary: Grand National Party lawmakers are skeptical that their party will maintain its majority in the National Assembly in next year’s legislative elections, a recent survey of the ruling party legislators showed, as the representatives expressed concern about worsening public sentiment toward the party and the president.

The JoongAng Ilbo conducted a survey of 122 Grand National lawmakers from mid-March till Saturday to obtain their opinions on the next legislative elections and the current political environment.

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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