July 18, 2011
South Korea faces milk shortage
The recent foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which caused the slaughter of millions of animals, together with unfavourable weather, is resulting in milk deficiency in South Korea.
According to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the total number of milk cows decreased by 6.7% to 403,000 in July from 432,000 a year earlier, and the total output of milk decreased about 10% from last year to about 1.9 million tonnes.
Bad weather also affected the lack of milk supply. A farmer said the recent rainy weather has kept his cows from being out in the sunshine, causing them a high level of stress.
"Milk cows cannot produce milk well during bad weather like high temperatures with high humidity," the farmer said. "The problem is not just weather but also the duration. The monsoon is lasting too long."
Industry observers said that even after the monsoon season ends, the problem would not be easily resolved because demand will surge when the weather turns sunny and hot.
Seoul Milk, one of the top milk providers in Korea, predicted that the demand for milk will increase about 20% after the rain ends
In this circumstance, consumers are trying to find their own solutions for purchasing milk.
