June 13, 2011
South Korean beef prices continue to plummet
Korean beef prices continue to plunge as per reflected by wholesale prices of top-grade native beef declining to KRW11,280/kg (US$10.34) last week, a drastic 33% dip from the same period last year, according to the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation (KAPE).
This is because the number of Korean cattle had increased steadily last year before an outbreak of mouth-and-foot disease resulted in the massive slaughter of Korean cattle.
The number of Korean cattle increased from 2.6 million in June 2009 to 2.73 million this March. The price drop was further fuelled by an increase in beef imports, which rose 22% to 98,277 tonnes in the first four months this year compared to the same period a year earlier.
The decrease in the popularity of Korean beef also stems from government overprotection.
KAPE classifies Korean beef into the five following grades; A++, A+, A, B and C. Beef with an "A" grade actually refers to beef in the third tier of the rating system, which goes against consumer expectations that an "A" grade is the best.
Of the Korean beef sold on the market last month, A++ grade beef accounted for only 9.6% of the total, followed by A+ (23.3%), A (31.1%), B (25.1%) and C (10.3%), which indicates that beef over the A grade accounted for 65% of the total sold. The Korea Consumer Agency and other civic groups have long demanded that this sly practice be stopped while also advocating for a better grading system.
The government's policies should not confuse citizens. It must be denounced if it attempted to confuse people with tricks. The current grading system is the result of local farmers' pressure on the government to promote consumption of their beef. But if their beef gets a C grade rather than an A grade, it turns customers away. There is another problem with the new grading system as it only applies to butcher shops.