US beef shipments to South Korea up 86%

In 2009, South Korea imported 59,486 tonnes of US beef, up 86% on-year, 13 times faster than overall beef imports.

In terms of value, beef imports from the US increased 41.1% to US$273.3 million, according to the Korea Customs Service.

Overall beef imports rose only 6.7% last year to 224,727 tonnes from a year earlier. In terms of value, a total of US$797.11 million worth of beef was imported last year, down 17% from 2008.

But US beef accounted for only 26.5% of total imports last year, far less than the 70% level before mad cow disease pulled a plug on imports in 2003. Australian beef accounted for 58% of total imports, New Zealand at 14.6% and Mexico at 0.9%.

Imports and sales of US beef were initially sluggish when it first resumed in mid-2008, but they have been on the rise since last year, said an Agriculture Ministry official.