FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues 

Today's Date: Friday,  March  21,  2025

For Coverage:  March  14  ~  21, 2025

Foot-and-mouth disease spread emergency... Double-digit confirmed cases in just five days.
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250319500718
Summary:  The foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which started in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, has reached double digits just five days after the first reported case.  The livestock industry and local community are engulfed in a somber atmosphere, and the quarantine authorities are making every effort to prevent further spread.  According to the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Central Accident Management Headquarters (led by Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs), as of 8 p.m. on the 19th, the number of reported outbreaks has increased to 12 cases.

H5-type AI antigens detected at two laying hen farms in Chungcheong Province
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250320069400063?section=industry/agriculture
Summary:  Avian influenza antigens have been detected at laying hen farms in Cheonan and Sejong, Chungcheong Province, and quarantine authorities have dispatched response teams to implement emergency quarantine measures.  Cheonan and Sejong egg farms are raising 80 thousand and 65 thousand laying hens, respectively, being tested whether they are highly pathogenic by the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.  These egg farms are undergoing emergency quarantine measures such as access control and culling to prevent further spread of livestock infectious diseases.

"‘Tongyeong oysters’ – Don’t eat them" sales suspended... What happened in the U.S.?
https://www.hankyung.com/article/2025031941727
Summary:  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has initiated a sales suspension and recall of certain frozen oyster products manufactured in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, after concerns that they may be contaminated with norovirus.  On the 11th (local time), the FDA announced on its website that certain frozen half-shell oysters produced in Tongyeong, South Korea, could be contaminated with norovirus, prompting the sales suspension and recall.  The recalled products are frozen half-shell oysters harvested on January 30 and February 4, 2024, and were produced by a company in Tongyeong.

Is the U.S. rice industry turning its eyes toward East Asia?
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250317500769
Summary:  Amid the trade wars the United States is waging with various countries, changes in its rice export strategy are expected.  The U.S. is shifting its focus from its traditional major markets in Central America to countries that have implemented protectionist trade measures, such as Japan and South Korea, and is strengthening its offensive in these markets.  Recently, the United States has raised concerns about Japan's high tariffs, which is seen as part of this strategy, leading to the analysis that South Korea, with a similar rice market structure, is not safe from such actions.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Committee approves measures to boost agricultural and food exports to 100 billion dollars, among other items.
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250318500385
Summary:  The Presidential Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Affairs Special Committee held its 24th plenary session on the 18th and deliberated and approved five agenda items, including the 'Measures to Create a Foundation for Growing the $100 Billion Food Industry Export' (hereinafter referred to as the measures).  The plenary session, held at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, was attended by Chairman Jang Tae-pyeong of the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee, two government members, and 16 appointed members. 

Foot-and-mouth disease cases surpass 10 this year, 9 confirmed in Yeongam
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250318500506
Summary:  The number of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) cases in South Korea has surpassed ten this year.  The Central Accident Management Headquarters confirmed two additional cases at cattle farms in Yeongam, bringing the total to ten, with nine cases concentrated in Yeongam and one in Muan.  Authorities have deployed emergency response teams for containment measures, while maintaining the highest alert level in ten regions, urging livestock farmers to conduct clinical surveillance and expedite vaccinations.

60 food companies produce food products using domestic wheat, soybeans and rice flour
http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=112370
Summary:  60 food companies such as Maeil Dairies, Ottogi Ramen, and Tour Les Jours, are participating in the agriculture ministry’s product development supporting project using domestic wheat, soybeans, and rice flour, which are 2025 strategic crops selected by the ministry.  The ministry has been supporting processed food development projects using the strategic crops as raw ingredients for food companies since 2023 to contribute to the stabilization of rice supply and demand and provide consumers with healthy food.  The ministry plans to support the entire product development process using the strategic crops for companies selected through expertise assessment.

Amid concerns of ‘milkflation’, Korean government to monitor the market situation and implement measures to stabilize supply and demand
http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=112363
Summary:  As concerns of ‘milkflation’ grow in the domestic market, which will lead to food price increases due to rising milk price, Korea’s agriculture ministry announced that it will continue to monitor market conditions to stabilize dairy prices.  Besides, it will actively implement measures to stabilize supply and demand such as expanding the supply of processed milk and securing a stable supply chain to improve the competitiveness of the domestic dairy industry in response to the tariff removal on dairy products.  According to the ministry, the domestic dairy market has maintained a stable supply and price of fluid milk and has introduced a differentiated pricing system by use since 2023 to respond to changes in consumption trends from fluid milk to processed milk.

‘Review of registration documents for overseas manufacturing facilities of imported food’ take just a single day using AI technology
http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=112342
Summary:  The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) will operate the “automatic review system for registration documents of overseas manufacturing facilities of imported food” applying AI digital technology from March 17th.  With this new system, the registration documents that were previously reviewed by the person in charge can be reviewed, translated, and compared using AI technologies like AI-Optical Character Recognition (AI-OCR) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA), reducing the processing time from three days to one day.  MFDS said that this system will enable accurate and efficient safety management of imported food by minimizing information errors on overseas manufacturing facilities.

"Establishment of Species-Specific Breeding Laws" vs "Amendment of the Livestock Act"
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250314500675
Summary:  There is a growing movement to establish species-specific breeding laws separately from the Livestock Act.  The Livestock Act, enacted in 1963, is considered inadequate in reflecting the industrial characteristics of individual livestock species and is seen as mismatched with the current reality of industrialization and scaling.  However, the government and others argue that amending the Livestock Act would be sufficient to promote industry development, and they remain cautious about creating separate breeding laws for each species.

U.S. apples enter phase 2 of import risk analysis – A threat to quality and price
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250314500754
Summary:  The U.S. has long criticized South Korea’s strict apple quarantine procedures as a non-tariff barrier, with the Northwest Horticultural Council (NHC) recently raising concerns in a submission to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).  U.S. apples are currently in the second stage of South Korea’s eight-phase import risk analysis, but the timeline for completion remains uncertain due to various quarantine factors.  The South Korean agricultural sector worries that the Trump administration's aggressive trade stance may accelerate the approval process, threatening domestic apple prices and market competitiveness.

U.S. Trade Representative pressures South Korea on agricultural inspections, says “many issues to address”
https://www.donga.com/news/Economy/article/all/20250317/131218116/2
Summary:  The U.S. government has raised concerns over South Korea’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, bringing agricultural trade issues to the negotiation table for the first time under Trump’s second administration.  During a recent high-level trade meeting, U.S. officials also highlighted South Korea’s "Platform Fair Competition Promotion Act" as a potential non-tariff barrier, signaling increased trade pressure ahead of upcoming reciprocal tariff measures.  With the U.S. pushing for expedited market access for its fruits and reconsideration of the 30-month age limit on beef imports, South Korea faces growing pressure to adjust its agricultural import regulations.

U.S. industry criticizes South Korea’s strict LMO quarantine procedures as a non-tariff barrier
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250314500757
Summary:  The U.S. biotechnology and soybean industries have criticized South Korea’s stringent LMO (Living Modified Organism) regulations, calling them a long-standing non-tariff barrier due to their complex and unpredictable approval process.  The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has repeatedly highlighted South Korea’s LMO quarantine procedures in its annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) report, and there are concerns that the Trump administration may push for easing these restrictions as part of broader trade negotiations.  However, the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture stated that while the issue is frequently mentioned in the NTE report, there has been no formal request from the U.S. government regarding LMO regulations.

Rice farmers struggle with rising fertilizer costs… Urgent government support needed
https://www.nongmin.com/article/20250314500769
Summary:  As rice farmers prepare for the upcoming farming season, they are struggling with a nearly 20% increase in fertilizer costs due to the lack of government subsidies for price hikes.  In response, the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) has pledged partial financial support, but farmers are still hesitant to purchase fertilizers, anticipating further government assistance.  Calls for urgent supplementary budget allocations to reinstate the fertilizer subsidy program are growing, but political deadlock has stalled discussions, raising concerns about the financial strain on farmers.