CALGARY – The Canada Beef Export Federation expects a big jump in beef exports to South Korea now that it has opened a sales office in Seoul.
Reduced tariffs, lower import quotas and economic growth of eight percent a year are contributing to South Korea’s newly affluent population’s desire for more western style foods including beef, said Renee Lee, a University of Alberta graduate student.
In a study done last fall, Lee found that a negligible amount of Canadian beef was eaten at five-star South Korean hotels. With stepped-up promotion from the new office that was opened this spring, about seven percent of the hotels’ purchases now come from Canada, said Ted Haney, the federation’s executive director.
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Above expectations
In 1995, Canada sold South Korea 2,179 tonnes of beef, up about 23 percent from 1994. Sales figures for the first quarter of 1996 have already exceeded expectations, said Haney.
Lee and Haney spoke to the Alberta Agricultural Economists Association meeting in Red Deer last week.
Lee said South Koreans ate 270,000 tonnes of beef in 1994, of which 45.5 percent was imported. Canada supplies about two percent, while the Americans provide more than 50 percent. Australia and New Zealand share the rest of the market.
Beef awareness
Lee, who is originally from South Korea, interviewed 55 chefs and meat buyers from five-star hotels last fall to measure their awareness of beef from the United States, Australia and Canada.
She found South Korean buyers had a positive image of Canada but they knew very little about Canadian beef.
Those who had tried it rated its quality as similar to U.S. beef and said they would likely buy more.
To fill the growing Pacific Rim market, Haney said more packing plants and processors have export managers on staff to open the doors to the Far East.
About 25 percent of Canada’s beef production is exported, most to the United States.
