Korea to allocate TRQ for frozen pork [Korean: BYK]

http://www.eto.co.kr/news/view.asp?Code=201101250

Summary: Korea will allocate a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) of 60,000 MT for frozen pork to control the increasing pork prices.  The duty for pork imports coming in under the TRQ will be zero percent.  The 60,000 MT will be composed of 10,000 MT of frozen pork bellies and 50,000 MT of other frozen pork products that will be used for processing purposes.  The current duty for frozen pork imports is 25 percent. The TRQ is applicable to imports made up to June 30, 2011.

Taiwan to enhance testing of beef imported from U.S.A. and Canada [Korean: BYK]

http://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0104_201101210333311901

Summary: Taiwan is going to increase the sampling rate for beef being imported from the United States and Canada from the current 5% to 20%.  Taiwan is taking such measures after detecting ractopamin in beef imported from the United States and Canada.  It is also reported that Taiwan will be requiring importers to submit a certificate that the beef being imported from the United States and Canada does not contain ractopamin, which is a prohibited substance.

Farmers quarantining themselves for New Year [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931440

Summary: Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, livestock farmers are voluntarily cutting themselves off from their family and friends in fear that visitors might infect their farms with foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or avian influenza A, fencing themselves in, shutting down roads and closing local markets. Residents of Gaya, Hongseong County, South Chungcheong, have blocked off roads leading to their village to fend off visitors from contagious regions since Jan. 11. Gaya is free of FMD.

Meat prices fluctuate as FMD crisis escalates [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931425

Summary: Pork and chicken prices are on the rise, while the cost of beef is falling. The price of 100 grams of pork belly last week was 1,680 won ($1.50), which represents a more than 20 percent increase from 1,380 won two months ago.  This is the biggest increase since September 2010.  In addition, the price of chickens and eggs have gone up because of the spread of avian influenza. Last week the wholesale price of a chicken was 2,100 won. This is 20 percent higher than the price before the outbreak.  At E-Mart, the retail price for a kilogram of chicken has increased 10 percent from last week when the first avian influenza case was reported in Paju, Gyeonggi. Egg prices are also climbing ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next week.

In contrast, the price of beef has been falling.  According to the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation, the price for a kilogram of premium pork was 7,600 won. This is 3,000 won more than a month ago. In contrast, the wholesale price of hanwoo, or Korean beef, fell by 1,500 won to 14,400 won per kilogram during the same period.  Analysts said the reason that hanwoo prices have fallen while pork prices are on the rise is that the FMD outbreak has affected pig farms more than cattle farms.

FMD vaccine development to take time [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/01/117_80253.html

Summary: President Lee Myung-bak called for the development of vaccines for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) Monday as a means to fight the highly contagious animal disease. But analysts said it will take a long time before the country could actually develop a vaccine of its own, while its commercial viability remains unclear.  Lee’s remark came as the disease has spread to most parts of the country with over 2 million animals having been culled despite nationwide quarantine operations, causing unprecedented financial damage worth more than 2 trillion won.  However, the development plan will not be an instant solution to the current epidemic as it takes more than a year to produce a reliable and accredited vaccine. Following the remark, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it will form a taskforce to review necessary steps. The National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service (NVRQS), a unit of the ministry, will undertake the task.

S. Korea confirms more FMD outbreaks [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/01/25/85/0501000000AEN

Summary: South Korea has confirmed two more foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in the country despite concerted quarantine efforts and wholesale vaccination of livestock, the government said Tuesday.    The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said pig farms in Gimhae and Gongju, 450 kilometers and 160km south of Seoul, respectively, tested positive for the highly contagious animal disease.   The outbreak in Gimhae is the second confirmed case in the province located in the southeastern tip of the country and a clear sign that FMD has spread nationwide. A total of six provinces and two large cities had confirmed cases of the animal disease since the first outbreak was reported on Nov. 29.   With the exception of some breeding sows that received vaccines more than two weeks ago, all 8,188 animals will be destroyed at the farms to stop the spread of the disease, the ministry said.