July 27, 2011
South Korea's June cattle numbers hit new high
The number of cattle in South Korea reached a record high in June despite the massive cull earlier this year amid the country's worst foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
The number of the country's native cattle known as hanwoo amounted to a record high of 3.05 million head as of last month, up 4.5% from the end of last year, Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.
The country imported 154,000 tonnes of beef from abroad during the first half of the year, up 62.9% from the year before, it stated.
The increase in the number of cattle in the country and the influx of imported beef have reduced the price of a 500 kg hanwoo by 28.1% from KRW5.24 million (US$5,000) in October last year to KRW3.77 million (US$3,600) as of the end of June.
In order to tackle the rapid drop in the price of beef, the ministry said it will ask farmers to butcher cows that could give birth to calves. It also said that it will provide farmers with information about livestock numbers and price trends so as to control the number of cattle raised on farms.
