January 3, 2005

South Korea May Delay Resumption of Canadian Beef Imports After Mad Cow Case

With the discovery of a new case of mad cow disease in Canada, South Korea may delay resuming beef imports from the country. The new mad cow case is the third known infection among North American cattle.

South Korea, which consumed 400,000 tons of beef in 2003, and Japan had earlier banned imports of Canadian and US beef following discoveries of mad cow infections.

"We've been banning imports of Canadian beef since May 2003; resuming imports from Canada may be delayed further,'' said Kim Kyu, a veterinary officer at South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's animal health division

Canada's government confirmed Sunday an 8-year-old dairy animal was infected with mad cow disease, following initial tests in December that indicated the animal had the brain wasting disease that can infect and kill humans. The US said it will go ahead with plans to resume beef imports from Canada because checks on herds are effective and preventing infected animals from entering the food chain.

Japan's ban on Canadian and US beef after discoveries of mad cow disease helped boost shipments from Australia, the world's biggest beef exporter. Australia raised its share of the $2.3 billion Japanese beef market to 91 percent from 44 percent.

"It is too early to tell whether (the new case) will have any impact on Australian producers because we simply can't say what the Japanese reaction will be,'' Richard Forbes, a spokesman for Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile.