Today's Date:  Thursday, July 19, 2012

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

S. Korea's trade surplus with EU plunges after FTA [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2012/07/18/0501000000AEN20120718001000320.HTML

Summary: South Korea's trade surplus with the European Union (EU) fell sharply after the free trade pact went into effect a year ago due to eurozone woes that hurt exports and caused a rise in imports, government data showed Wednesday.  According to data by the Korea Customs Service (KCS), imports from the EU shot up 13 percent on-year to US$49 billion between July 2011 and June this year. Exports fell to $50.9 billion from $57.9 billion during the period, with the surplus dropping to just $1.9 billion from $14.5 billion reported before the FTA went into force.

<7/16/2012> Compensation Set for Farmers Hit by Korea-U.S. FTA [English, CSY]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2012/07/16/2012071601114.html

Summary: The government will compensate farmers hit by the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.  The Agriculture Ministry said Friday it will provide more than W30 billion (US$1=W1,151) to more than 240,000 farmers who have applied for aid.  Farmers who grow dozens of products including beans, chili, grain and garlic will benefit from the aid, with W400,000 given per hectare of land they own.  The ministry says the compensation will be paid in December once the qualified applicants have been chosen.

2. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

<7/17/2012> Controversial Bill on Beef Imports Awaits Natl. Assembly Discussion [English, CSY]

http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?nseq=133554&code=Ne2&category=2

Full text: A controversial bill on beef imports is awaiting discussion at Korea's National Assembly.  The bill stipulates an immediate suspension of beef imports if mad cow disease is reported in any country that exports beef to Korea.  A field inspection team would also be dispatched to the country in question.  According to sources within the assembly and the agriculture ministry, Democratic United Party lawmaker Kim Young-rok has submitted the bill, and it will be discussed at a standing committee meeting later this month.   The agriculture ministry opposes the bill saying it contradicts current government regulations and laws that require a judgment of the degree of risks to the public's health, before deciding import suspensions.  Ministry officials add that the bill is also goes against the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which has the status of domestic law in Korea.

3. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

<7/15/2012> S. Korea's agricultural output to rise 3.7 pct in 2012: report [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2012/07/15/78/0501000000AEN20120715000600320F.HTML

Full text: Output by South Korea's farming and livestock industries is expected to gain 3.7 percent this year on increased prices of vegetables, rice and fruits, a report showed on Sunday.   Total production by the farming and livestock industries is expected to reach about 46.65 trillion won (US$40.55 billion) this year, according to the report by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI).    The farming industry is expected to produce goods worth 28.62 trillion won this year, up 6.2 percent from a year earlier, while the livestock sector's production is forecast to see a 0.1 percent decline to reach 18.03 trillion won, the institute said.

The report also forecast that overall income for the farming and livestock industries would gain 2.4 percent to reach 10.43 trillion won this year.  The farming industry is expected to earn 8.64 trillion won this year, up 7.9 percent.   But the livestock sector is likely to see a drop of 18 percent in its annual income for the year to reach 1.79 trillion won. The report said the sharp drop in the sector was attributable to increased production costs and decreased prices.  The institute said the livestock industry's production costs are to reach 16.24 trillion won this year, compared with last year's 15.87 trillion won.

Worst Drought in 56 Years in the U.S. … Price of Grain Soars [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Inter/Feed_New02/3/0216/20120717/47842212/1

Gov’t Food Safety Tests Found Record Low Violations Last Year [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2012/07/18/0301000000AKR20120718190100002.HTML

Summary: According to the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry Fishery and Food, 1.8 percent of the 76,589 safety tests it carried out on agricultural products in the market found violations of safety standards last year, which was the lowest level since the government started a formal monitoring in 1997.  The level of violations has been on a continuous decline over the years. 

Both Department Stores and Hypermarket Retailers Report Sales Decline in June [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2012/07/18/0318000000AKR20120718140600003.HTML

According to a survey by the Ministry of Knowledge and Economy, sales of department stores declined 2 percent in June compared to the same month last year.  Sales of hypermarket retailers also declined 7.2 percent.  Mandatory closings on every two Sunday was a key cause of the significant sales decline of hypermarket stores.