The U.S. Meat Export Federation announced on Nov. 22 that South Korea was the largest U.S. beef importer in the first three quarters of this year whereas it was Japan last year. In that period, South Korea’s U.S. beef imports totaled 194,660 tons, up 4 percent from a year ago. It includes 59,101 tons of chilled beef from the United States, which increased 25 percent year on year.
South Korea’s frozen beef imports from the United States made up most of its U.S. beef imports until 1996. Its chilled U.S. beef imports started in 1997 and the ratio is currently 30 percent or so. Its chilled beef imports from the United States increased 13-fold in about 20 years. Last year, South Korea imported 243,198 tons of U.S. beef, this amount was 54.9 percent of its total beef imports, and the ratio was second to none for the fourth consecutive year. At the consumer survey the federation and Gallup Korea conducted in the first half of this year, 67.5 percent of respondents said they are inclined to consume U.S. beef.