November 14, 2005

South Korea to decide on US beef import resumption month-end
 

A South Korean advisory panel will decide later this month whether to resume US beef imports, which were banned for nearly two years after mad cow disease was discovered in the US end-2003, announced the South Korean Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on Nov 13.

The livestock sanitation committee will meet on Nov 29 and is made up of government officials, veterinarians and consumers.

The meeting was originally slotted for June, but was delayed after a second case of the mad cow disease was found in a US herd again earlier this year.

After Korea blocked US beef imports in December 2003, the US has been asking the former to reopen its beef market. Though still hesitant to accede to US' request, Japan's recent show of willingness to reopen its beef market has added to the pressure.

Before the ban, Korea had been a major importer for the US beef, importing about 68 percent, or some 119,443 tonnes, of its total beef imports from the US in 2003.