Cattle Prices Fall After Deal on U.S. Beef Imports

The agreement to allow U.S. beef imports back into Korea is driving down domestic cattle prices, and the government is seeking to boost productivity of the Korean cattle industry and tighten the regulation on country of origin.

Price data released by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation Sunday said that when the agreement was reached Friday, the price of a female calf traded in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, hit 1.74 million won per head, down 8.4 percent from the previous day. A male calf was traded for 1.81 million won, down 7.2 percent.

North Jeolla Province also suffered a cattle price drop on the same day. The price of a female calf dropped 4.9 percent from 1.83 million won to 1.74 million won, while that of a male calf fell 4.6 percent from 1.96 million won to 1.87 million won.

The average price of a female head of cattle was 4.72 million won Friday, down 3.8 percent from March, and that of a male was 3.9 million won, down 9.4 percent.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo held a meeting of related ministers to minimize the damage to the domestic cattle industry. The government will announce a set of measures Monday.

To raise the competitiveness of domestic cattle, the scope of the country of origin regulation will be expanded and tougher punishment will be meted out to violators.

In addition, the launch of a nationwide system will be sped up that will better inform consumers on beef they purchase, from breeding and slaughtering to distribution.

changkim@donga.com