October 2, 2006

South Korean livestock population hits 7-year high

Rising demand for local premium beef in South Korea has stoked production, causing the number of domestic cows raised for meat to increase sharply and hit 7-year highs, a report showed Sunday (Oct 1).

As of September, there were 2 million heads of "hanwoo"cattle in the country, according to a report from the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service.

The figure is nearly 37 percent higher than that of December 2003, when the country banned US beef, and is the largest since September 1999, when cow numbers reached 2.09 million.

The report said the import ban on US beef has helped demand for local beef.

Demand for hanwoo has been rising even though its price is twice as expensive as imported beef.

Although South Korea lifted its import ban on US beef in early September, US exporters are leery of sending any shipments to the country as the "boneless beef factor" has not been resolved. While South Korea has expressed a zero tolerance for bones found in the beef, even fragments, the US is appealing for some level of tolerance which has so far been rejected.