South Korea imports 29% more beef
South Korea’s import of pork and beef surged in the first half of this year as the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) led to the culling of millions of livestock, an animal quarantine agency has said.
South Korea imported 219,681 tons of pork in the first six months of this year, up 120% from a year earlier, according to the Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency.
Beef import amounted to 187,874 tons in the first half, up 29% over the same period last year, according to the agency.
The sharp increase was mainly attributable to the outbreak of FMD, which led the government to cull millions of pigs along with thousands of head of cattle.
Pork imported from the US, which accounted for 43.4% of the total pork import, reached 95,380 tons in the first half, up 223% from a year earlier. Import from Canada also increased 191% year-on-year to 31,376 tons.
Beef imported from Australia, accounting for 47.7% of the total beef import, stood at 89,659 tons during the January-June period, up 20.8% from a year before. The US beef import grew 54.6% on-year to 43,990 tons over the period.
