SEJONG: South Korea’s pork imports from countries it has free trade agreements (FTAs) with have surged in 2015 due a fall in their prices overseas amid high local demand, data showed Wednesday.
According to the data by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), pork imports from the European Union, the United States, Canada and Chile all rose sharply in the first nine months of the year.
The institute said a drop in overseas pork prices contributed to the increase, with rising domestic prices stemming from high demand also playing a part.
Up till September, pork imports from the EU jumped 43.2 percent on-year to 193,000 tons, with shipments from the U.S. gaining 27.8 percent to 120,000 tons. Corresponding numbers for Canada and Chile moved up 29.5 percent and 26.3 percent to 37,000 tons and 240,000 tons, respectively.
The data also showed imports of dairy products, like cheese and powdered non-fat milk also rose. Dairy imports from the EU and Australia moved up 127.3 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively, to 25,000 tons and 7,400 tons. “The increase is due to stronger local demand and a drop in import prices,” the think tank said.
The average price of imported cheese fell 10.5 percent on-year to US$5.14 per kilogram, while powdered non-fat milk stood at $2.77 per kilogram, a decline of 38.5 percent.
Demand for overseas dairy products is not unusual since prices of fresh milk in South Korea are roughly twice those of the EU and Australia. KREI added that fresh milk prices in New Zealand are even cheaper, raising the possibility that the bilateral FTA with the Oceania country will help fuel imports.
Products made in New Zealand already account for 30 percent of all dairy imports, so the FTA ratified by the National Assembly on Monday is expected to cause numbers to rise down the line.
Besides pork, imports of beef from Australia increased by 9 percent on-year to 144,000 tons in the nine-month period, mainly due to the rise in local beef prices. Local beef prices have risen to a five-year high this year. The data, however, showed beef imports from the U.S. dipped 2 percent to 86,000 tons, mainly because of higher prices.
The data, meanwhile, showed that while pork and dairy imports rose, along with beef from Australia, inbound shipments of food and agrofisheries goods from countries that Seoul has open trade agreements with, declined in the nine-month period.
The findings showed overall imports were down 11.9 percent on-year in the nine-month period, mainly because products brought in from the United States fell by 10.4 percent. The United States is the largest exporter of agrofisheries goods to South Korea.
In addition, farm and fishery imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations backtracked 7.1 percent on-year. On the other hand, imports from the EU rose 11 percent and those from Australia 4.5 percent.
