Korea’s Ag. Trade Deficit Shrinks 12 Percent [Korean, OSY] http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?articleid=

2010020503000019610&linkid=4&newssetid=1352

Summary: According to aT, Korea’s trade deficit from agricultural products declined 12 percent in 2009 compared to the previous year.  While Korea exported a total of $4.9 billion of agricultural products to the world, up 7 percent from the previous year, imports totaled at $16.4 billion, down 8.4 percent from the previous year.  Trading partners that Korea recorded the largest ag. trade deficit were the U.S. ($4.1 billion), China ($3.1 billion) and Australia ($1.7 billion).  Top imported ag. products were corn ($1.6 billion), pulp ($1.2 billion) and wheat ($1 billion).

4. Grain/Oilseed Issues

State farm trade corporation aims to set up int'l grain company [English: CSY] http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/02/10/30/0501000000AEN

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Summary: South Korea's state-run agriculture trading corporation said Thursday that it aims to set up an international grain purchasing and distribution company that can better insulate the country from fallout from global price hikes.

The plan calls for the new grain handling company to set up an international distribution network in the next 10 years, officials at the Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp. said. This it said would allow it to purchase products directly from farmers in foreign countries and distribute wheat, corn and beans around the world.

5. Livestock Issues

6th Foot-and-Mouth Disease Case Confirmed [English: CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/02/123_60015.html

Summary: South Korea confirmed a fresh outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) Saturday, renewing fears that the highly contagious disease has not subsided after more than 10 days with no new cases.  The latest outbreak brings the total number of cases to six since the first FMD outbreak was reported on Jan. 7.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the sixth case was at a farm located in Pocheon, north of Seoul, about 4 kilometers away from where the first outbreak was confirmed. Of the six cases that were confirmed in the past three weeks, five occurred in the Pocheon region, while one other case was reported in nearby Yeoncheon, 62 kilometers north of Seoul.

USMEF Launches US Beef Gift Sets for Lunar New Year’s Day [Korean, OSY]

http://kr.finance.yahoo.com/news/view?aid=2010020416540866847&cate=3000

Summary: According to USMEF major hypermarket stores and five star hotels have started to sell US beef gift sets targeting Lunar New Year’s Day from February 4.  While hypermarket stores are focusing on gift sets of frozen meat and rib, five start hotels offer more expensive sets of chilled meat.

NGO releases list of 704 places that violated the COO regulations [Korean: BYK]

http://www.nongmin.com/article/ar_detail.htm?ar_id=171137&subMenu=articletotal

Summary: The Coalition of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society released a list of 704 places that had sold U.S. beef under a different country-of-origin labeling.  The Coalition received this list after winning the law suit against MIFAFF for not releasing this information.  Among the places included in this list were; restaurants, kindergarten, day-care centers, wedding halls, hotels, resorts, golf clubs and hospitals.  Among the 704 places caught during the first 10 months after the U.S. beef was liberalized on June 26, 2008, 63 places had fake COO labels indicating that the beef was Hanwoo.

Prime Minister leaves room for renegotiation of U.S> beef import protocol….after observing neighborhood country’s protocol [Korean: BYK]

http://www.seoulfn.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=77105

Summary: Prime Minister made such comments on February 5^th while answering the questions from the National Assemblymen about the Foreign Affairs, Unification and Security area.  He did point out that the revision of the Taiwanese law was a unilateral action by Taiwan without consulting with the United States.  However, he said that the ROKG will keep a close monitoring of the developments being made in neighborhood nations and will make the necessary demands, including a revision of the import protocol, if the agreement with other nations are more favorable than the one reached with Korea.

USMEF to promote gift beef sets for upcoming Lunar New Year [Korean: BYK]

http://economy.hankooki.com/lpage/industry/201002/e2010020417284947670.htm

Summary: USMEF will be promoting U.S. beef gift sets for the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays at major discount stores, hotels, etc.  Each imported U.S. imported beef sets will be prices within a range of 60,000~330,000 won.

Gov't urges S. Koreans abroad to stay away from farms, bird sanctuaries [English: CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/02/10/85/0501000000AEN

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Summary: The government on Wednesday urged South Koreans traveling abroad not to visit farms or bird sanctuaries in an effort to prevent further outbreaks of livestock diseases in the country. The farm ministry said a recent outbreak of foot-and-mount (FMD) disease in Beijing and bird flu cases in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia has raised the possibility of such diseases entering the country via returning travelers or foreign visitors.

Court makes decision in favor of the PD Diary again [Korean: BYK]

http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000281934.html

Summary: The court handed down a decision in favor of the producers of the PD Diary again.  The court determined against the law suit filed by the importers claiming that they had lost money due to the program.  The court also turned down the law suit against the Actress that had said bad things about U.S. beef.

U.S. Meat Packer Conducts Massive Recall [Korean: BYK] http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=

104&oid=003&aid=0003090442

Summary: Huntington Meat Packing Inc., a Montebello, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 864,000 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.  (This plant is not on the EV list for Korea)

Import Trends of Consumer Goods Indicate Further Dipolization of Consumer Buying Power [Korean, OSY] http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?articleid=

2010021603000072410&linkid=4&newssetid=1352

Summary: According to the gov’t import data, imports of luxury consumer goods, such as jewelries and hand bags, showed a hefty increase (178 percent and 61 percent respectively) in January compared to the same month of last year.  Other high value consumer goods, including cars, furs, golf gear, whiskies and cosmetics also showed a robust double digit import growth.  However, as indicated by the sluggish sales reported by leading discount store chains for January (-11.9 percent), low income consumer group is still under the financial difficulty and the market is becoming more dipolized in terms of buying power, which presents a challenge to the policy makers.

6. Marketing Issues

Lotte Acquires GS Department & Hypermarket Store [Korean, OSY]

http://news.joins.com/article/437/4006437.html?ctg=1100&cloc=home|list|list1

Summary: Lotte Group announced on February 9 acquisition of GS Squre department stores (3 outlets) and GS Mart hypermarket stores (14 outlets) from GS Group at 1.34 trillion won.  Total number of department stores and hypermarket stores under Lotte will become 29 and 84 after the acquisition.  A series of acquisition deals recently completed by Lotte, including Buy The Way convenience store chain earlier this year, indicates that Lotte will seek additional expansion opportunities in the retail sector.

Michelin Guide Korea Edition to be Published [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/New/3/01/20100225/26425495/1&top=1

Summary: The head of Korea Tourism Agency met with the representative of Michelin Guide and agreed to work together to publish Michelin Guide Korean Edition.  Launching of the Korean version Michelin Guide is likely to help upgrade the quality of food and service of local restaurant industry while helping foreign travelers better understand the Korean cuisine and culture.

7. North Korea Issues

Food shortage worsens in N. Korea: official [English: CSY] http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2010/02/10/21/0401000000AEN

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Summary: North Korea's food shortage is expected to further worsen this year, as the communist state's grain output in 2009 is believed to have fallen from the previous year, a government official in Seoul said Wednesday. The North is estimated to have produced 4.1 million tons of grain last year, a drop of about 200,000 tons compared to 2008, the Unification Ministry official said on condition of anonymity. The amount falls about 1.3 million tons short of what the impoverished country needs this year to feed its 24 million people, the official said. The North produced 4.3 million tons in 2008.

DPRK reportedly succeeded in inviting foreign investment worth 10 billion dollars from China. (Korean:CSC) 

http://www.dailynk.com/korean/read.php?cataId=nk00100&num=81112

8. Other/Miscellaneous Issues

Food producers cut prices for flour-based brands [English: CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916123

Summary: Good news for gluttons: Prices for some popular food items such as ramen, pie and crackers are on the decline.  Several companies are slashing prices on these items by up to 14 percent as the result of a dip in flour prices and several other factors.  Nongshim Co., the biggest ramen producer in Korea, said yesterday it would cut the prices of seven ramen products - including its popular Shin Ramyun and Ansungtangmyun brands - by 2.7 percent to 7.1 percent, effective as of today.

Gov't to increase farm product inspections in 2010 [English: CSY] http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/02/02/0501000000AEN

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Summary: The government said Wednesday that it will expand the scope of its inspections on farm goods to better safeguard public health against harmful residual materials.  The measures to be implemented this year call for a 13 percent increase in the number of products to be checked, with emphasis placed on 54 types of grains, vegetables and fruits that are consumed in large quantities on a regular basis, the farm ministry said.

Beer Imports Increase 19 Times in 10 Years [Korean, OSY]

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/02/03/2010020300296.html

Summary: Total value of beer imports was $37 million dollars in 2009, down 5.6 percent from the year before due to the global economic depression but 19 times larger than 10 years ago.  It is expected that beer imports will see a strong growth in the coming years as consumers want more options and new tastes.  Netherland was the leading exporter of beer to Korea in 2009 with 24.4% market share followed by Japan (21.2%) and the U.S. (17%).

Gov’t to Help Expand Rice Wine Industry [Korean, OSY] http://kr.news.yahoo.com/service/news/shellview.htm?articleid=

2010021103000023710&linkid=4&newssetid=1352

Summary: According to the Ministry of Ag. and National Tax Office, government will deploy various supports to the local rice wine industry this year.  Gov’t supports will include 50 percent reduction of liquor tax, launching of government certified quality assurance program and financial support for facility modernization.  Gov’t believes that these efforts will result in increased use of local rice by the industry which currently relies heavily on imported rice.

Daewoo International eyes farming business [English: CSY]

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/11/201002110066.asp

Summary: Daewoo International Corp., a trading firm focused on overseas resource development, said yesterday it will stretch its business to agricultural resource development to seek growth and help reduce Korea's reliance on imported grain.  The trading company has established a new unit to focus on development of food resources like corn and beans, biofuel assets like palm oil and cassava, and reforestation projects, it said.

Korean 'makgeolli' rice wine exports surge in 2009 [English: CSY] http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/02/11/8/0501000000AEN

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Summary: Exports of traditional Korean rice wine surged 41.9 percent on-year in 2009 due to steady overseas demand for the beverage, a government report said Thursday.  Outbound shipments of the "makgeolli" wine reached a record US$6.30 million the finance ministry said. It added the rise made the alcoholic beverage the fastest growing export item among local agricultural and food products last year. Makgeolli exports grew 16.0 percent in 2007 and shot up to 52.2 percent in 2008 thanks to strong consumer demand in Japan, although in terms of total volume makgeolli exports stood at just 20 percent of those of soju, a distilled drink made from rice and starches such as sweet potato.

Sugar rice to increase after the New Year’s holiday [Korean: CSY]

http://polinews.co.kr/viewnews.html?PageKey=0401&num=99634

Summary: Local sugar refiners will increase its sugar price after the New Year’s holidays due to the surged raw sugar price in the global market. The refined sugar price increase is expected to give an impact on the prices of sugar contained food products in Korea.

Fish quotas unchanged [English: CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2916636

Summary: Korea and Japan have agreed to keep their quotas on the amount of fish allowed to be caught in their respective exclusive economic zones unchanged for this year, government officials said yesterday.  The agreement to leave the amount at 60,000 tons this year was made between officials of the two countries in a meeting held last week in Seoul, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The number of Korean ships permitted to fish in Japanese waters annually was reduced from 940 to 900 for this year. The same quotas should be applied to Japanese ships in Korean waters, the ministry said.

KOICA at forefront of overseas aid campaign [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/26/201002260043.asp

Summary: Korea, once a recipient of international aid itself, is on a campaign to increase the volume of its official development assistance following its recent induction into a club of top global donors.  Seoul now holds membership in the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, meaning it is under stronger international obligations on aid extension.  On committee recommendations, the Korea International Cooperation Agency - the government's main arm for extending official development assistance - has already inflated its annual budget by 20 percent for this year.  Interest-free grants are to account for the bulk of the funds, agency officials said.  Seoul's goals regarding overseas aid involves mainly two goals; one is to raise the overall contribution level, while the other is to extend more grants than loans.