300,000 Cows To Be Culled Amid Price Plunge

SOUTH KOREA - South Korea will seek to cull up to 300,000 cows in the next two years while working to boost its beef consumption to help keep prices up, the government said Wednesday.

4 January 2012

1 minute read

Asia

Yonhap News Agency reported that the government will spend 30 billion won (US$26.1 million) this year alone in incentives to farmers who cull female cows of breeding age, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The move comes after the average price of a cow weighing 600 kg plunged more than 20 per cent over the last few months.

Producers are blaming growing beef imports for undercutting domestic production, and expect the situation to worsen when the South Korea - US free trade agreement (FTA) is fully implemented.

Yesterday, TheCattleSite reported that the South Korean government will give compensation for producers affected by the impending FTA.

However, government officials blame producers for dramatically increasing the national herd, despite previous warnings.

The number of cattle in South Korea has more than doubled from 1.4 million head in 2002 to about 3.04 million head in 2011.

The government has said culling 30 per cent of the breeding herd will help increase market prices in the long run.