South Korea-US Beef loses favour.

SOUTH KOREA- THE MARKET WAS NOT AS EASY AS THE HYPE IN THE MEDIA.Lingering concerns over the safety of U.S. beef and lower demand due to unfavorable exchange rates may have caused U.S. beef exports to South Korea to slip for the second consecutive month in December.

Seoul’s Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corp., according to Korean media reports, said imports of U.S. beef fell 20..6 percent from November to December, to 4,933 metric tons. That followed a 20.1 percent drop in November from October.

The value of U.S. beef imports dropped 21.1 percent to $28.5 million in December, following a 19.5 percent decline from October to November.

The decrease contrasts with solid gains from July through October 2008.

Yonhap News cited the local office of the U.S. Meat Export Federation as saying the Korean won’s sharp depreciation against the U.S. dollar caused local importers to delay placing orders, but industry sources argued that USMEF’s contention doesn’t explain the increase in Australian beef imports. In December, Australian beef imports rose 9.5 percent from November, to 12,798 metric tons.

The decrease in U.S. beef imports may just be a result of continuing consumer concerns over the safety of U.S. beef, an anonymous official told Yonhap.