South Korea: Livestock and Products Annual
Despite high domestic cattle and beef prices, Post forecasts Korea’s cattle calf crop to see its third consecutive yearly decline in 2017. Recent concern over high-end beef demand due to a new anti-graft law that restricts gift-giving has discouraged cattle producers from continuing their previous expansion trend. Slaughter and beef production are also forecast to decline with imports increasing to fill the gap. Korea’s swine herd will continue to grow as farmers take advantage of firm prices, at least in the medium term, and consumers take advantage of the relatively cheaper protein. Given this demand situation compared to domestic capacity, slightly higher imports are still expected.
