Today's Date:   Tuesday, November 20, 2012

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

All of the Presidential candidates assert for increased direct payment [Korean: BYK]

http://news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?year=2012&no=764440

Summary: All three Presidential candidates stated that there is a need to increase the direct payment during a Presidential Candidate Debate organized by the Korea Farmers Coalition.  All three candidates promised to increase the amount of direct payment if they are elected.

Presidential Candidate Jae In Moon states that he will change all of the agricultural policies that have gone amiss [Korean: BYK]

http://www.newstomato.com/ReadNews.aspx?no=308008

Summary: During a Presidential Candidate Debate organized by the Korea Farmers Coalition Moon asserted that the current Administration looks upon agriculture as an industry that can’t make any profits and that he is going to change such wrong attitude.  He said that Korea needs to be very cautious about the Korea-China FTA.  As for the concept of “Sharing of Profit Gains Coming from trade under FTA” that farmer organizations have been asking for, he emphasized the need to aggressively review this concept.

Presidential Candidate Chul Soo Ahn states, “Korea-China FTA should be approached from a viewpoint of food security” [Korean: BYK]

http://www.asiatoday.co.kr/news/view.asp?seq=728675

Summary: During a Presidential Candidate Debate organized by the Korea Farmers Coalition, Ahn stated that the “Korea-China FTA should be approached from a viewpoint of food security” and “Even if our country is dependent upon trade, it does not mean that we have to pursue unconditional FTAs.”  He also stated that we need to objectively review the effect of the existing FTAs.

Korea to begin negotiations on RCEP and trilateral FTA next year [Korean: BYK]

http://www.polinews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=162159

Summary:  Korea is planning to begin talks for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with 16 nations in East Asia as well as trilateral FTA talks with China and Japan next year.  If the trilateral FTA is implemented, it will be an FTA among the third largest economic bloc, after NAFTA and EU.  Also the during the RCEP summit meeting in Phnom Penh, the head of each nation is expected to announce the beginning of the RCEP negotiations.

2. MARKETING ISSUES

Hypermarkets Start Sales Promotion on California Pomegranates [Korean, OSY]

http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2012111901071424277006

 

Engel Index Marks 13.6% in the First Half 2012 … Highest Level Since 2000 [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2012/11/19/0301000000AKR20121119117600002.HTML?template=5565

Summary: According to Bank of Korea report on November 20, Engel Index of Korean household marked 13.6 percent in the first half 2012, highest level since 2000 (14 percent).  Household spending on food and beverage (except alcohol beverage) totaled 44 trillion won during the period, up 6.3 percent from the same period last year.  Market analysts suggest that the sharp rise of Engel Index was mainly due to strong price of agricultural products.

E Mart to Shorten Shelf Life of Fresh Eggs by 4 Days [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2012/11/19/0318000000AKR20121119185900003.HTML

Summary: E Mart, the leading hypermarket grocery retailer in Korea, announced that it had switched from “packaging date” label to “production date” label for fresh eggs.  Under the old system, it took up to four days for the eggs consolidated and packaged in E Mart warehouse and then the eggs had 10 days of shelf life counted from the packaging date.  The new system will shorten the total shelf life of fresh eggs as much as 4 days and it will be counted from the production date.  E Mart commented that the new system will allow consumers to buy fresher eggs in E Mart.

3. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Export suspension to be prolonged, concern over chaos in oyster [Korean: BYK]

http://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0300&key=20121120.22012204035

Summary: The FDA sent a letter to the Korean government asking for Korea to provide answers on 9 different areas, including legislation of designating the shellfish export area, emergency countermeasures to cope with when the sewage treatment facility is not working, feasibility study for frequency of collecting manure near fish farms, sanitary training materials, etc.  If the suspension in exports is prolonged, it will cause an economic loss of 80 billion won and also drag down the domestic prices.  The current auction price for a 10kg box of oyster is around 70,000 won and about 13,000 boxes are auctioned on a daily basis.  The average price during the most recent 10 years was 100,000 won/box, with average daily auction volume of 9,000 boxes.  About 40,000 MT of oyster (worth 300 billion won) is produced on an annual basis in the Tong Yong and Goejae area.  Among this, 25,000 MT is sold in the domestic market and the remainder is exported as frozen oyster of canned products.