Bord Bia has said that the Irish beef industry has “already formed ties” with importers and potential costumers in South Korea in advance of the formal approval to export beef to that country which has been confirmed today (Wednesday, May 15).
South Korea is now officially open to Irish beef and exports can now commence, following an audit of some Irish processing plants by officials from the Asian country last month.
Today, South Korean authorities communicated their approval of those seven plants to export beef there.
Commenting on the development, Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole told Agriland: “Gaining access to South Korea has been a long-held objective of the Irish beef sector.
“Close commercial relationships are very important in this competitive market and Bord Bia and the Irish beef industry have already formed ties with importers and potential customers in South Korea.
Bord Bia is currently running an EU co-funded campaign to promote Irish beef and lamb in South Korea, Japan, China and the US. The campaign is valued at €4.8 million over the three years 2022, 2023 and 2024.
A previous promotion campaign in South Korea saw Bord Bia engage with over 650 potential buyers of Irish agri-food.
The country has a population of around €50 million. South Koreans are the highest per-capita consumers of meat in Asia, with an average consumption of 79kg per person per year. 17kg of this is beef.
Beef consumption there is predicted to grow by 1% year-on-year over the next four years.
The country is only 35% self-sufficient in beef, and therefore relies heavily on imported beef to meet consumer demand.
In 2020, South Korea imported almost 500,000t of beef, of which 92% came from just two countries – the US and Australia.
Including South Korea, Ireland can export beef to 70 countries. Current targeted markets to expand that figure include Vietnam and Thailand.
It is understood that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will engage with South Korean authorities to add to the number of plants here that can export to the country.
The seven approved plants are:
- ABP Clones in Co. Monaghan;
- ABP Cahir in Co. Tipperary;
- Liffey Meats in Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan;
- Kepak Clonee in Co. Meath;
- Slaney Foods in Bunclody, Co. Wexford;
- Dawn Meats in Grannagh, Co. Waterford;
- Dawn Meats in Charleville, Co. Cork.
The beef approved for export includes all edible parts, including bones, produced from cattle aged under 30 months at the time of slaughter, and offal, other than material specified by the European Commission and South Korean authorities.
Ireland already exports dairy, seafood and pigmeat to South Korea, which, along with smaller amounts of other food categories, were worth €47.15 million in 2023.