March 24, 2011

South Korea to raise livestock's tax-free import quotas

South Korea, amid the battle with FMD and bird flu outbreaks, will raise the import tax quotas of breeding pigs, chickens for breeding and seed corn to ease shortage and stabilise prices.

The government boosted the quotas for breeding pigs to 5,000 from 1,850 head and to 661,000 from 461,000 for breeding chickens, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday (Mar 23). The measures will start Thursday and last until the end of the year.

The Asian nation has culled about 3.5 million animals since late November, mostly pigs and cattle, to contain the spread of FMD, the biggest outbreak in the nation's history. Separately, authorities have destroyed 6.2 million chickens and ducks amid the outbreak of bird flu.

The increases will "help boost supplies of agricultural and livestock commodities, stabilising local prices," the ministry said. Prices of agricultural, dairy and fisheries goods increased 17.7% in January and inflation has breached the central bank's target range for two straight months, climbing to 4.5% in February from a year earlier.

The quotas for tariff-free seed-corn was increased by 323 tonnes to 570 tonnes, while the 5% tariff quota for soy for food processing increased by 141,018 tonnes to 326,805 tonnes, the statement said.