US beef promotion builds in South Korea

18-Nov-2015 - Last updated on 18-Nov-2015 at 15:13 GMT

The US beef industry is able to focus more on the enjoyment of beef as well as food safety, says Yang

Related tags Export International trade Trade Us Beef

The US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is focusing on promoting the quality of beef to South Korea

The US was the country’s largest beef supplier in the early 2000s but the market closed to the imports following the 2003 BSE case. Imports resumed to the country in 2008.

This year (through September) US beef exports are up 9% in volume (92,577 metric tons) and 4% in value ($612.9 million) from the same period in 2014.

Jihae Yang, USMEF-Korea director said that finally the US beef industry is able to focus less on the safety of the product and more on the enjoyment.

Paradigm changed

“Now we are talking about the brand, we talk about home shopping, the recipes,” said Yang. “We talk about something fun. So now the paradigm has changed, from something negative or safety-related to promotional story.”

“We will continue to grow in the market and I want to take a moment to appreciate producers and the US government.

“I really appreciate that we are back in the market and now we can talk about the quality.”