Some Australian beef exporters reported that trade with Korea slowed last week, due to the sharp depreciation of the Korean won against the US dollar.

On May 25, the Korean currency hit a 10-month low at KRW1,277.85 against the US dollar.

While traders reported easing trading activity, Australia's beef exports to Korea totalled 8,581 tonnes swt during May 1 – 24 this year, already recording an 8% lift on total exports in May 2009.

Meanwhile, US beef rose about 6% to be 30.4% of the total amount of beef imported to Korea in the first four months of 2010. US beef is stealing more of the market away from Australia, Korea's primary supplier of beef with 52% of all beef imported by Korea in that same time frame.

Hotels and retailers in Korea said they may slowly be buying more quality beef from the US as safety and quality concerns over American beef subside.