Reclaimed tidal flat to be made into regional food hub: farm minister

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- A reclaimed tidal flat on the western coast of South Korea is to be turned into a regional food hub, a senior Seoul policymaker said Monday, potentially opening new horizons for local farmers and agriculture-related industries.

Agriculture minister Chang Tae-pyong said in an interview with Yonhap News
Agency that the future hub will make full use of a new port, research institutes
and manufacturing facilities to become a first-rate food processing center.
"Of the total land, 30 percent is to be used for farming, while another 27
percent of the reclaimed land will be left vacant for the time being, and may be
used later to raise crops or animals," he said, emphasizing that there would be
a sufficient amount of space for the project.
Chang's comments bring a new element to a government blueprint for the tide
flat, known here as Saemangeum. The development project has been making sluggish
progress for over a decade, with successive administrations changing the plan
after assuming power.
Former president Roh Moo-hyun had earmarked 70 percent of the Saemangeum flat
for agricultural use. But the incumbent Lee Myung-bak administration, which has
been pushing to fuel the construction sector as a means to revive the economy,
readjusted the plan with emphasis on more industrial use.
Under the new master plan, announced Sept. 4 this year, 69.5 percent of the 283
square kilometers of Saemangeum are to be set aside for manufacturing and farm
land. Development of little over a quarter of the land, located 274 kilometers
south of Seoul, has been put on hold pending changes in business and farming
conditions.
The remaining area will be used to create a fresh water lake and an
environmental protection zone. The government has also said it will welcome
foreign investment to build up the tidal flats, which lay just across the Yellow
Sea from China.
The minister said 500 hectares of green houses are to be constructed that will
make use of various eco-friendly farming methods. "Green farming" is to be the
future of local agriculture, Chang said, and will use less chemical fertilizers
and pesticides to produce food compared with cheaper imports.
The new sea port and advanced manufacturing and research centers that are to be
built at Saemangeum could all contribute to turning farm goods into value-added
processed foods to be consumed domestically or sold abroad, Chang said.
South Korea, the world's 11th largest trading, is a net importer of farm goods
with the amount steadily growing in the face of market liberalization pressure.
Its agricultural trade deficit reached US$10.92 billion last year, up from $8.68
billion in 2006.
Chang said Seoul wants to increase the market share for locally raised cattle to
half of all meat consumed from 44 percent at present, but said farmers should
not rely solely on government support in terms of competing with imports.
He said that while 2.2 million heads of cattle is deemed as being adequate to
meet demand, the figure currently stands at 2.5 million heads.
Regarding imports of U.S. beef that began in late June, the minister said 13,000
tons have cleared customs so far, with only one shipment being sent back due to a
discrepancy in terms of labeling.
"South Korea is maintaining a tight quarantine regime on all imports," he said.
The country was rocked by large scale demonstrations following an agreement to
lift an import ban on U.S. beef in April, leading President Lee to publicly
apologize twice.
The agriculture minister, meanwhile, said the government plans to look over all
related rules on food safety and ensure that contaminated food does not reach
consumers.
Public demand for strengthened food safety measures has risen as a result of a
mad cow disease scare that arose with the lifting of the beef import ban and a
recent scandal involving melamine, an industrial chemical, found in baby formula
and dairy products in China.