November 12, 2008

South Korea may soon export its beef and chicken product to the US within next year. 

The export of samgyetang, a Korean ginseng chicken soup, is likely to begin in the first half of 2009, while Korean beef exports will enter the US for the first time in the second half of 2009.

A team of US inspectors visited the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service in October, conducting an on-site inspection of a chicken processing facility, said the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

However, all is not settled yet as the US inspectors will be holding a 60-day hearing in the US on whether to import samgyetang. A ministry official said that while the inspectors raised some issues, the problems could be rectified within a short period of time.