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South Korea has already become the world’s third-largest buyer of U.S. beef, even though current rules require Seoul to import boneless meat from cattle less than 30 months old. However, it is very likely that South Korea may soon ease quarantine rules to clear the way for more imports of U.S. beef. If negotiations between the two countries allow Seoul to import “bone-in” beef, South Korea’s imports of U.S. beef are likely to grow at a faster pace.

According to statistics by the U.S. Meat Export Federation on November 19, South Korea imported US$33.45 million worth of U.S. beef, or 6,076 tons, in September.

In early October, South Korea temporarily halted quarantine inspections of U.S. beef after finding spinal fragments in some boxes of American meat. This followed several similar incidents over the summer in which prohibited bone fragments were found and inspections halted. Bone fragments and meat from animals more than 30 months old have been identified as being at particular risk for mad cow disease, an outbreak of which in December 2003 initiated South Korea’s ban on U.S. beef. Seoul partially lifted the ban in January 2006 to allow imports of boneless beef from animals less than 30 months old.

As of September, Canada was the world’s bigger buyer of U.S. beef with $52.67 million worth of the meat, or 11,199 tons, imported, followed by Mexico with $50.81 million, or 13,621 tons. South Korea’s U.S. beef imports are often compared in contrast to those of Japan, which imported $18.93 million for the month.

For the first nine months of this year, South Korea ranked fourth, with imports worth $106.51 million. Mexico came first with $541.8 million, Canada was second with $310.52 million and Japan ranked third with $174.16 million, according to the data. Given the fact that South Korea resumed imports of U.S. beef in late April, South Korea was actually third in the ranking.

The data also showed that South Korea was the world’s fourth-largest importer of U.S. pork. For the first nine months of this year, South Korea imported U.S. pork worth $149.24 million, up 9 percent from a year ago. Japan came first with $846.56 million and Canada was second with $337.21 million, while Mexico was third with $220.9 million.

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