Today's Date:    Wednesday, January 04, 2012

1. GRAIN & OILSEED ISSUES

Government-held old rice will be released to cope with the inflated farm gate price.  (Korean,CSC)

http://www.nongmin.com/article/ar_detail.htm?ar_id=197212

Summary: Government decided to release 2009 crop rice of government-held stock at a half price of new crop to curb the uptrend of rice market.  Selling auction for 200,000 MT of 2009 crop will be held from January 11, 2012 on.  

Under Public Rice Stockholding Program (PRSP) for food security ( also known as the Public Storage System for Emergencies (PSSE)), the Korean government has completed purchasing 260,928 MT (milled basis) of 2011 domestic paddy rice during the harvest season (October-December) at the average market price.  However, the government has failed to reach the targeted volume of purchase as rice farmers were very reluctant to sell their rice to government, expecting rice prices to go up further in the future.  Korean government plan was to purchase 340,000 MT (milled basis) of paddy rice representing 8 percent of the 2011 rice crop estimate. 

2. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

Price of Calf Plunges … But the Retail Price of Local Beef Remains Unchanged [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2012/01/04/0301000000AKR20120104075600003.HTML

Summary: According to marketers, price of Hanwoo calf fell sharply from 1,956,000 won per head in April 2011 down to 921,000 won in December 2011.  Marketers points out that total number of cattle kept in local farms these days is about 500,000 heads larger than optimum level, 2.5 million, which is responsible for the weak calf price.  However, retail price of local beef in stores remain unchanged.

3. MARKETING ISSUES

OB Beer Resumes #1 Market Share in 15 Years [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2012/01/04/0302000000AKR20120104068800003.HTML

Summary: OB Beer, a leading beer brewing company in Korea, reportedly took a 50.2 percent market share in total beer market sales in Korea in 2011, resuming the number one position in 15 years since 1996.