September 8, 2006

South Korea to resume US beef imports

South Korea, previously the third largest market for US beef, on Friday (Sep 8) approved resumption of US beef imports after repeated delays.

South Korea's Agriculture Ministry said the 36 US slaughterhouses handling meat for export to South Korea met safety measures, opening the way to the resumption of imports.

US beef may appear in South Korean markets in about a month, the ministry said in a statement.

South Korea had agreed in January to resume American beef imports on a limited basis, allowing only boneless meat from cattle younger than 30 months old.

However, the actual resumption was delayed over meat safety measures.

The main complaints were that some of the US slaughterhouses either did not separate American and foreign beef, or used the same tools to slaughter older cows and younger ones.