March 29, 2004

Korea Beef Sales Normalize Following BSE Scare

Sales for beef products in Korea are recovering from the setbacks experienced in the wake of the US BSE announcement late last year.  Both hypermarkets and department stores have announced that sales for domestic and imported beef are increasing.

On 28 March, a spokesperson for retailer Lotte Mart announced that sales of Hanwoo beef, which fell by around 50% following the BSE announcement, have recovered to around 80-90% of pre-BSE levels.  If this trend continues, sales should return to normal within one to two months.  Korea's largest hypermarket chain, Emart, also announced a sales recovery for Hanwoo to around 80% of pre-BSE levels.

The recovery is not limited to domestic beef.  After falling by as low as 90%, imported beef sales are now back to around 50-60% of pre-BSE levels.

The recovery in beef follows on from a similar recovery in chicken consumption, which had fallen significantly following the outbreak of avian flu virus last year. 

Pork prices, which had increased in reaction to the BSE and flu virus announcements, have maintained high levels.