May 30, 2006

 

South Korea to resume US beef imports on June 7

 

 

South Korea would resume US beef imports on next Wednesday (Jun 7) after it announced a list of approved beef processing facilities in the United States, an agriculture ministry official said Monday (May 29).

 

Only meat processed in facilities deemed safe by the South Korean government would be allowed to enter the country. South Korean inspection teams had been to US beef packing and slaughtering facilities to ensure mad cow safety procedures had been followed.

 

South Korea, once the third-largest export market for US beef, banned imports from the United States in 2003 after the first case of mad cow disease emerged.

 

South Korea would announce a list of safe facilities and after the announcement, any of the approved facilities can ship beef to South Korea, Kim Chang-sub, director of the ministry's livestock bureau said.

 

The agriculture ministry also re-affirmed South Korea's restrictions on US beef imports, such as a ban on bone-in beef and spinal cords, despite protests from US leaders.

 

Last week, a group of senators in Washington sent a letter to South Korea's ambassador, Lee Tae-sik, calling for South Korea to accept the full range of US beef and beef products.

 

Under an agreement in January, South Korea would allow only imports of beef from cattle that are less than 30 months old with parts that the government regards as risky removed before shipping.

 

Korea is not planning to import bone-in beef or offal from the United States, despite a request to do so from Washington lawmakers, an Agriculture Ministry official said.

 

Beef with bones, such as ribs, and offal, remain banned because they pose health risks, the official said.

 

The request by senators is not the same as a formal request by the government, he said, adding that no formal requests have been made as yet.

 

Beef with ribs had made up a significant part of US meat imported into South Korea in 2003.

 

South Korea had intended to resume importing US beef in late March, but trading was delayed after the third case of the disease was found in the US in April.