South Korea's pig meat imports reduced by 21%
South Korea's pig meat imports, including offal, declined sharply last year due to market disruption created by the coronavirus crisis. The volumes were down 21% to 449,000 tonnes, with a specific impact on imports coming from the EU (-28%) and US (-14%). At the same time, the latest USDA estimates show a 3% increase in domestic pork production in 2020. "The level of decline was fairly consistent throughout 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has dampened demand for imported pork in South Korea, due to reduced demand from restaurants, which are the primary users of imported product", commented Bethan Wilkins, Senior Analyst - Red Meat, AHDB.
In the last couple of weeks, restrictionary measures in South Korea have eased but large gatherings are still forbidden and restaurants are running on low capacity. A vaccination programme against cOVID-19 was started on February 26 but it may last for a few months to see other restrictions lifted for the population and meat imports are expected to continue their decline in the following months.
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