August 24, 2010

 

Chile's poultry sees high hopes in Korean market

Korea will now become an important market for Chilean chicken, contributing to the diversification of markets for the country's meat industry.

 

"In Chile, the meat industry leads the growth of our food industry, one of the main sources of employment, innovation and technological improvement," said Hernan Gutierrez B., minister counselor and director of the commercial office.

 

To promote the arrival of the new import, the embassy prepared a small tasting event on August 13 evening for local meat importers and restaurant representatives. But the current market situation in Korea may not offer much hope for Chilean exporters. According to Kim Dong-jin from the Korea Poultry Association, demand for imported chicken in Korea is low. Almost 85% of demand is met by local production, and imports from Brazil and the US dominate the rest of the market.

 

According to the association's statistics, Korea consumes some 540,000 tonnes of chicken a year on average. Last year, the amount imported from Brazil was 30,000 tons and from the US, 31,000 tonnes.

 

Korea exports 10,500 tonnes of local chicken products annually, primarily to destinations in Asia such as Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Hong Kong. The Korea-Chile FTA is expected to create a comparative advantage for Chile, which was the aim of the exporters.

 

According to the embassy, Chile produced around 507,519 tonnes of the meat last year. Roughly one quarter was exported to Mexico, the top destination, followed by the EU, China, Hong Kong, the US and Peru.

 

Mr Kim from the poultry association was more concerned about the impact of US chicken on the market when the KORUS FTA is approved by the legislatures of the respective countries.

 

The FTA with the US is currently caught up in the ratification process, however.

 

Mr Kim explained, "Although demand is small, low-priced meat could really change things."

 

In fact, the National Chicken Council of the US, together with 40 other agricultural and food organisations, recently sent a letter to leaders in Congress urging for prompt ratification of the FTA.

 

US President Barack Obama has said he wants the agreement finalised by the time Seoul hosts the G20 Summit in November.