April 19, 2006

South Korea expects to resume US beef trade in June

South Korean officials said they have started examining the records of the Alabama cow diagnosed in March with mad cow disease and would make a decision about resuming trade in US beef by early June, according to a report in Asia Pulse.

Kim Chang-Seob, chief veterinary officer of the Agriculture Ministry, said that it appears the animal was born before the US ban on ruminant protein in cattle feed, and a fact-finding team may be sent to the US next week to confirm that finding.

Another team would be sent to inspect the 33 US processing plants hoping to export beef to South Korea. If all goes well, the first shipment of US beef could be arriving in South Korea around June, according to Lee Yang-ho, an Agriculture Ministry spokesman.