9월 14일자 블룸버그통신에 따르면, 미국 농무부는 한국의 2011년 미국산 쇠고기 수입량이 24% 증가할 것으로 예측했다고 합니다. 한국은 현재 멕시코, 캐나다, 일본의 뒤를 이어 세계에서 4번째로 많은 미국산 쇠고기를 수입하는 국가입니다. 지난 2003년 미국의 광우병 발생으로 쇠고기 수입이 전면중단되기 전까지 한국은 일본에 이어 세계에서 2번째로 많은 미국산 쇠고기를 수입하는 국가였습니다.

South Korea May Increase Imports of Beef, Pork in 2011, USDA Unit Predicts

South Korea, the fourth-largest buyer of U.S. beef, may boost imports by 24 percent next year as demand recovers after the outbreak of mad cow disease in 2003, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

U.S. beef exports to South Korea may jump to 136,000 metric tons (299.8 million pounds) in 2011, up from an estimated 110,000 tons this year, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said today in a report on its website. The country’s total beef imports will climb 6.3 percent to 340,000 tons in 2011, up from 320,000 tons this year, the FAS said.

South Korea, once the second-largest buyer of U.S. beef, began restricting shipments almost seven years ago, following the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow, in the U.S. herd. The Asian country resumed imports of the meat from cattle up to 30 months of age in June 2008.

“There are still a sizeable percentage of fence-sitting consumers who still haven’t started buying U.S. beef again,” the FAS said. “Marketing efforts are being targeted at winning these consumers back.”

Only Mexico, Canada and Japan imported more U.S. beef than South Korea in the first seven months of this year, according to USDA data. In 2003, South Korea bought 586.6 million pounds of U.S. beef, second only to Japan. More than half of all beef consumed in Korea is imported, according to today’s report.

South Korea’s imports of U.S. pork may climb 14 percent in 2011 to 120,000 tons, up from 105,000 tons in 2010, the FAS said. Overall pork imports may rise 12 percent to 420,000 tons.

“Strong consumer demand and the growing proportion of consumers eating pork at restaurants” are spurring the increase in imports, the FAS said.

In the first seven months of 2010, South Korea was the fifth-largest importer of U.S. pork, according to the most- recent USDA data. Japan, Mexico, Canada and Hong Kong bought more pork from the U.S.

To contact the reporter on this story: Whitney McFerron in Chicago at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net