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US Beef Imports Surge

SOUTH KOREA - U.S. beef is rapidly eating into the South Korean market. The total volume of U.S. beef imports has increased more than 10 times in the past couple of months and the number of large distributors dealing with the American beef has also neared to 20.

With the country set to discuss new standards for the beef imports with the United States as early as next month, the agony of local stockbreeders is expected to deepen further when the full-scale imports including bone-in beef such as ribs resume.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Wednesday, U.S. beef imports rose more than 10 times since July 16, compared with the previous two-month period.

A total of 13,376 tons of U.S. beef were brought into South Korea as of Sept. 19 since it resumed imports in late April, three years and five months after it had imposed a ban following the discovering of a case of mad cow disease in the U.S. in late 2003.

Of the total, 11,823 tons cleared customs and another 1,307 tons were undergoing quarantine inspections, while the remaining 246 tons were returned or destroyed as they failed to clear the inspections, according to the government data.

South Korea had imposed a total ban on U.S. beef imports after the confirmation of a case of mad cow disease in December 2003. It partially lifted the ban later, allowing the import of only boneless beef from cattle aged less than 30 months.

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Source: Korea Times

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