Audio: Despite Difficult History, U.S. Beef Performing Very Well in Korea

At the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF) recent strategic planning conference, USMEF members received an inside look into the history of U.S. beef in South Korea, including the rebuilding of Korean consumer confidence following large street protests just seven years ago. A case study titled “Korea: Thirty Years of Challenges for U.S. Beef” was presented by Joel Haggard, USMEF senior vice president for the Asian Pacific, and Jihae Yang, USMEF-Korea director.

In the attached audio report, Haggard describes some of the obstacles USMEF had to overcome in order to introduce U.S. beef to Korean consumers in the 1990s. But the U.S. industry made great strides, and became Korea’s largest beef supplier in the early 2000s. Then came a huge setback, when the Korean market closed to U.S. beef for several years following the 2003 BSE case.

While it’s been a long road back, Yang explains that USMEF is now able to focus less on consumers’ safety concerns and more on the quality and enjoyment of U.S. beef – and Korean consumers are responding very well to this message. This year (through September) U.S. beef exports to Korea are up 9 percent in volume (92,577 metric tons) and 4 percent in value ($612.9 million) from the same period in 2014.

TRANSCRIPT:

Joe Schuele: U.S. Meat Export Federation members recently had an opportunity to learn about the long history of U.S. beef in South Korea. In this USMEF report, Senior Vice President Joel Haggard explains that, in the beginning, there was great pushback from Korea’s domestic beef industry.

Joel Haggard: In 1988 the discussions got going, resulting in a beef agreement in 1990 that Korea would liberalize its market by the end of 2000. But it was very difficult at this time. We had no opportunity to really reach for the consumer and tell them the story of our product. So there was tension throughout all the 90s. Imagine there’s a room like this and we’re trying to give a seminar, and there’s a guy in the back of the room standing up shouting at the top of his lungs with a banner, ‘Down with U.S. beef, down with American beef.” So it was a very trying circumstance, but we felt we should just persevere.

Joe Schuele: The U.S. had made great strides to become Korea’s largest beef supplier before suffering a huge setback with the 2003 BSE case. It’s been a long road back, but USMEF Korea Director Jihae Yang explains that the industry is finally able to focus less on the safety of U.S. beef and more on the enjoyment of the product.

Jihae Yang: Now we are talking about the brand, we talk about home shopping, the recipes. 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 U.S. government to make this happen, and I really appreciate that we are back in the market and now we can talk about the quality.

Joe Schuele: For more on this and other trade issues, please visit USMEF.org. For the U.S. Meat Export Federation, I’m Joe Schuele.