This is a subscriber-only article
The South Korean market will present opportunities for the Irish beef industry over time, Meat Industry Ireland director Dale Crammond has said.
On Wednesday, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue announced that Irish beef had received the green light to be exported to South Korea. Seven beef factories have been approved to export Irish beef.
The opening of beef exports to South Korea has been a long-standing priority market for MII members, Crammond said.
“It is fantastic that our world-class beef products will be available to consumers in South Korea in the very near future. This achievement is realised on the back of very significant investment by MII beef processors over many years.
“My focus now is working with the Department to increase the number of eligible exporting plants to maximise this opportunity,” he said.
Beef cuts
All edible cuts of beef are eligible for the market, including bones produced from cattle aged under 30 months at the time of slaughter and offal, other than specified material as defined by the EU and South Korea.
South Korean people are the highest per-capita consumers of meat in Asia, at 79kg per person. Of this, 17kg is beef.
Beef consumption is predicted to grow by 1% year on year over the next four years.
SHARING OPTIONS: