March 14, 2005

South Korea to import chicken from North Korea

South Korea will import 40 tonnes of North Korean chicken next month.

The shipment comprising of meat and poultry from North Korea's Nampo port into South Korea's Incheon port would be the first approved consignment from the North.

The importers of South Korea are expected to import 50 tonnes of chicken every week, or 2,000 tonnes by the end of the year.

A month of sanitary inspections had to be conducted on the meat before it can be sent to food plants for further processing or to large discount outlets.

South Korea's domestic demand for chicken stands at about 373,000 tonnes a year, of which 88,000 are imported from abroad.