August 24, 2012

South Korea's beef imports drop 19% for July 2012

South Korea receives 21,442 tonnes of beef imports - a rise of 13% on the previous month but 19% below the corresponding period in 2011.

Australian beef made up 51% of Korean beef imports during July, which is consistent with the Australian market share so far in 2012.

In the first seven months this year, Korea imported 146,770 tonnes of beef, with chilled beef making up 16% of total volume. During the period, Korean beef imports dropped 15% on-year with decreased volumes from Australia (down 14%), US (down 14%), New Zealand (down 24%) and Mexico (down 14%). While Korea started importing Canadian beef from March, imports to July only totalled 602 tonnes.

In addition to subdued consumer beef demand, a 22% rise in Korean cattle slaughter during the last six months has impacted demand for imported product.