August 17, 2007

South Korea's halt on US beef inspections drawing down demand

Demand for US beef in Korea is waning as the latest ban on US beef takes effect in the form of a halt to quarantine inspections, the Korea Herald said.

The quarantine suspension is the culmination of a long series of problems South Korean authorities have found on US beef for the past year, mostly to do with bone fragments found in shipments.

Sales of US beef have dropped 10 percent since the freeze on inspections, compared to the first week when it was a sell-out in supermarkets. The slowdown in demand could also be an indication of the waning of interest weeks after US beef was first released in the country, authorities said.

Australian beef sales, benefiting from the ban, rose 20 percent during the period.

Retailers are expected to run out of US stock in 10 days, which would further boost sales of Australian beef.