South Korea Beef insights

[Korean Farmers and Fishermen Newspaper, Reporter Ikino] At the '2025 Korea International Livestock Expo,' various academic events were held under the auspices of livestock organizations and related companies to enhance the competitiveness of the livestock industry. The Korea Dairy Beef Association, which organized this international livestock expo, sought ways to revitalize milk and dairy products (K-MILK) using the 'Hometown Love Donation Program,' attracting significant interest from dairy processing companies. Sunjin hosted the most academic events at this expo, six in total, including 'The Future of Korean Pig Farming,' and received high praise. Meanwhile, Cheonha Jei Feed attracted attention by inviting a Japanese Wagyu expert to share expertise on breeding cow management. On the other hand, the 26th anniversary of the National Hanwoo Association was commemorated.

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yoon-gu = The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced on the 12th that the Hoksung KC Halal Slaughterhouse has received final registration approval from the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following quarantine and hygiene negotiations for Hanwoo beef exports. With this registration approval, the export of halal red meat (Hanwoo) in refrigerated and frozen forms has become possible. However, Hanwoo from certain regions where foot-and-mouth disease occurred in the first half of this year are excluded from export. As the path for Hanwoo exports to the UAE has opened, it is expected to have a positive impact on negotiations with other countries as well. Hong Moon-pyo, President of aT, said, "The export of Hanwoo to the Middle East is soon to be an expansion of our food territory" and "We will actively support this to increase the income of domestic Hanwoo farmers and elevate the status of K-Food."

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yoon-gu = The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) announced on the 11th that fruit and beef were found to be the most preferred items for the upcoming Chuseok gift sets among consumers. aT conducted a survey on the 25th to 28th of last month through a professional research company, targeting 3,000 people to investigate their intentions to return home for Chuseok, planned purchases for Chuseok gift sets and harvest gifts, budget, timing, and purchasing locations. According to the survey, the intention to return home for Chuseok this year was 45.8%, which is 1.3 percentage points lower than last year's Chuseok (47.1%). The top three items for purchasing gift sets were the same as last year's Chuseok: apples (17.3%), mixed fruit sets (17%), and beef (15.8%). Mixed fruit sets moved up one rank from last year's third place. The items in the mixed sets include apples, pears, shine muscat, peaches, and grapes. The average budget for purchasing gift sets was 163,000 won, which is lower than last year's 171,000 won. The largest number of respondents, 31.7%, said they would purchase with a budget of 50,000 to 100,000 won, indicating a high intention to buy cost-effective products with a smaller budget compared to last year. The top items for purchasing harvest gifts were beef (30.3%), apples (15.1%), vegetables (14.4%), and pork (6.7%). The average budget was 206,000 won, which is higher than last year's Chuseok (202,000 won). The preferred items were the same as those for last year's Lunar New Year and Chuseok, but the intention to purchase beef was 5 percentage points higher than for Lunar New Year. For purchasing locations, large-scale supermarkets accounted for about 70% for both gift sets and harvest gifts. The second-place purchasing locations were online-only malls for gift sets and traditional markets for harvest gifts. The timing for purchasing both gift sets and harvest gifts was most popular one week before the holiday, with 40% of respondents indicating this preference.