Large Impact Expected On The Beef Market

Large Impact Expected On The Beef Market. December. 26, 2003 22:45. by Jin-Hup Song Kwan-Hee Hong jinhup@donga.com konihong@donga.com.

As a Holstein cow in the U.S. has been confirmed to be infected with the mad cow disease, the import of beef from U.S. will be officially suspended in the near future.

The Korean government already has a regulation that regardless of the break-out and the resolution date of the mad cow disease, the beef from the problematic country shall never enter Korea. If this standard is not altered, the import of beef from the U.S. will be banned semi-permanently.

The U.S. beef makes up 44 percent of the entire beef market in the country and 68 percent of the total imported beef. If the import is ceased, many negative influences are expected to be stirred up.

According to the “U.S. Mad Cow Disease Situation,” Huh Sang-man, the Agricultural Minister, held an emergency press conference on Friday, saying, “Just after the mad cow disease is confirmed positive in [tests done in] the U.K., we will suspend the categorical imports of beef from the U.S.”

He also added, “In case of beef which are already distributed and circulating in the market, we will leave it to be sold because the mad cow disease has a relatively low chance of infecting human beings except if it exists on specific hazard substances.”

In addition, he said, “If the U.S. beef is no longer imported, the supply and demand status in the beef market will not waver,” the minister said, adding, “No special diplomatic suggestions have been brought up from the U.S. side.”

The ministry will intensively crack down on the fake labeled selling incidences instead.

Among the total beef import from U.S., 273,253 tons, Washington State beef, where the mad cow disease break-out has almost been confirmed, makes up 6.9 percent or 18,856 tons.

According to this mad cow disease situation, Korean Airlines and Asiana Airlines have ceased to use U.S. beef in all of their airplanes, changing the menu to seafood or New Zealand beef.

In advance of these movements, the scientists from the animal laboratory in England have sent the document of inspection results to the U.S. Agriculture Ministry which agreed with the first level study results of the U.S. scientists who had assumed the problematic Holstein cow had caught the Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or commonly referred to as the “Mad Cow Disease.”

“We regard this result as confirmation of the Mad Cow Disease,” said the spokesperson of the Agriculture Ministry, adding, “The other inspection result from the U.K. is expected to be same as this one.”

The U.S. agricultural secretary, Ann Veneman said, “The cerebral and spinal cord parts of the infected cow have not been processed for table use. We will do our best to protect the customers.”

On the other hand, the Agriculture Ministry has decided to supply reward, household settle-down, and cattle purchasing money (Annual Interest 3 percent, repayment in three years with a two-year grace period) to the farms damaged from the recent Bird Flu disease tragedies.

In addition, the ministry has decided to drive forward to postpone the stock breeding fund redeem period for two years and has decreased the relevant interests and the school fee for students in the affected households.