January 11, 2012

As part of South Korea's efforts to help stabilise prices, the country will seek to begin exporting beef in a few years, the agriculture minister said Tuesday (Jan 10).

"Considering wagyu (Japanese beef) is 1.5 times more expensive than Korean beef but that Japan still exports beef, I believe we, too, can export Korean beef," Suh Kyu-yong, the minister of food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, told a press briefing.

Suh, however, noted it will take some time before the country can begin shipping its beef overseas.

"We need to first improve the quality of hanwoo (Korean beef) and also develop a brand that can sell in other countries," he said.

The move comes as the average price of cows plunged over 20% at the end of last year from a year earlier with the price of hanwoo calves trading as low as US$10.

The ministry earlier announced plans to cull up to 400,000 female cows of breeding age, blaming local farmers for causing the plunge in prices by increasing the number of cattle to what it called "excessive levels." There are currently about 2.95 million head of cattle in the country. The ministry says the proper number of cattle for South Korea is about 2.5 million.

The farmers, however, blame what they call the country's "abnormal" distribution system where too many middlemen make too much profit, keeping consumer prices up despite such a plunge in prices at farms, and thus keeping consumption down.

Suh said the government will cut the number of butchering facilities from the current 86 and turn them into 36 large centres that can slaughter, pack and sell meat. This, he said, will reduce the number of different stages involved in the beef distribution system from the current five to three, which, in turn, will help lower consumer prices.