April 13, 2011
 

South Korean pig stocks decrease due to FMD 

South Korean pig stocks were greatly reduced due to the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that affected farms nationwide, according to the Korean media.

Around 7.04 million pigs were being raised at local farms during the first quarter, down 28.8%, or 2.85 million animals, from the same period last year, Statistics Korea reported. This represents the lowest pig population since the third quarter of 1997, when 7.06 million pigs were raised at local farms, the report said.

The report was based on a March 1-15 survey of farms. 

The number of dairy cows dropped about 8% on year to 396,000, while the population of other cattle dipped 1.4% to 2.88 million during the same period.

The spread of FMD coincided with an avian flu (AI) outbreak, which saw the number of chickens raised for meat annually declining 10% to 69.93 million during the first quarter. The number of egg-laying hens fell 1.1% to 61.03 million from last year.

Since the first FMD case was reported at a North Gyeongsang Province farm in November 29, 2010, the disease swept through the country's livestock population in virtually every region aside from the southwest. More than 3.41 million pigs, cattle, goats and deer were culled before government officials declared the outbreak over last month. Combined with the damage caused by AI, this led to a full-blown meat crisis that has butchers and consumers reeling from falling supply and rising prices, adding further difficulties in the fight against soaring inflation.

The wholesale price of chicken in February was KRW2,128/kg (US$1.96) up 36% from December, while pork increased 46% to KRW6,372 (US$5.87).