U.S. beef becomes No. 1 seller in S. Korean stores

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- Sales of U.S. beef exceeded those from Australia and
domestic meat a month after sales began in major discount outlets, industry
sources said Sunday.
Sources said Lottemart, E-mart and Homeplus -- South Korea's three major
discount outlets -- reported combined sales of 1,276.1 tons of U.S. beef from
Nov. 27 to Friday.
Sales of Australian beef, which had been the market leader in the absence of U.S.
meat, stood at 1,128.2 tons for an on-year drop of 16-17 percent, while demand
for Korean beef gained 5 percent compared to the year before to 712.2 tons, it
said.
"Although Australian beef has been hurt, sales of U.S. beef at large stores
across the country fueled consumption of meat and helped Korean meat and pork,"
said a retail industry source.
Sales of pork, which is cheaper than beef, increased 20-35 percent, depending on
stores, to 3,515.5 tons in the one-month period.
E-mart sold 570 tons of U.S. beef, while Homeplus and Lottemart sold 460.6 tons
and 245.5 tons, respectively.
South Korea opened its market fully to U.S. beef in late June, but large retail
outlets did not handle the meat until Nov. 27 over fears of protests from civic
groups.
Seoul had banned all imports from the U.S. after the discovery of mad cow disease
in the state of Washington in late 2003. A new deal on quarantine inspections was
signed in April that effectively opened the market to all U.S. beef cuts from
cattle under 30 months old.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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