The United States has
reclaimed the title of top beef exporter to South Korea in 2017. The change
comes 14 years after a U.S. outbreak of mad cow disease that led to a ban of
U.S. beef in South Korea, handing the top spot of the market to Australia,
according to Reuters. U.S. beef shipments jumped 13.7 percent last year to
177,400 metric tons, accounting for nearly half of South Korea's beef imports.
Australian shipments eased about four percent to 172,800 metric tons. Beef is a
diet mainstay of South Korea, and the nation is the world's fourth-biggest beef
importer, and the third biggest buyer of U.S. beef in 2016, rising to a value
of $1.1 billion in 2017. A Korea-based trade researcher attributed the change to
the 2017 drought in Australia and a tariff gap between the U.S. and Australia.
U.S. beef will attract a 21.3 percent tariff in 2018 while the tariff for
Australian beef will be 26.6 percent.
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