April 27, 2012

Total Korean meat imports for the first three  months of 2012 have rose by 5% on the same time in 2011.

Korean beef imports for January to March totalled 64,367 tonnes - a decline of 11% on-year. For the three month period, Australia held a 49% of imported market share, while the US, New Zealand and Mexico made up 39%, 10% and 2% of total beef imports, respectively.

Pork imports increased 17% on-year, with US product making up 31% of total shipments. Korea's pig herd is still recovering from devastating Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreaks of last year, which is assisting demand for imported product. While the average price per kilogrammes for a pig carcase in the Korean wholesale market during the first quarter of 2012 was 30% lower on-year, it was still 10% above the 2010 average.

While poultry imports remained steady on last year, Korean imports of sheep meat increased 14% (totalling 1,125 tonnes) on-year, with Australian product claiming an 88% of market share.