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Free trade is not always beneficial

Korea’s middle class is in danger. Each round of new statistics reports more Koreans falling into the lower classes. With unemployment on a persistent rise, households are struggling to get by. At the same time, the country’s conglomerates are reporting record profits. Incomes at the top are growing while opportunities for job seekers are shrinking. The gap between rich and poor is growing. If some factions of the Korean government and business community have their way, this growing in inequality may accelerate to an unprecedented level.

A high ranking Korean diplomat told the Chinese press that the two countries will likely begin negotiations on a free trade agreement in 2011. Korea wants a free trade agreement to compete for the Chinese market in semi-conductors and electronics with Taiwan, after the Taiwanese signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with the mainland in June.

The bill will face opposition from small and medium-sized manufacturing firms, as well as farmers and fishermen. A free trade agreement that would expose Korean firms to low Chinese labor costs. Cheap imports would be disastrous for domestic industry. If workers in these sectors lose their ability to compete, they will struggle to earn a living in an economy that demands education and specialized skills. Even well educated candidates are struggling in the current job market.

Read the full story at JoongAng Daily

A dozen Korean ladies outfitted in pink aprons roll up their sleeves and sterilize their hands with cloths soaked in soju liquor. Then they spend 10 minutes hand-blending steamed sticky rice, yeast dissolved in water and azalea petals, before pouring the mixture into plastic containers. “Don’t forget to put it in the cool shade and stir it every morning and night with a spoon for a week. Think of it as like growing a plant. Those of you who are successful will have your own makgeolli,” said the instructor at the podium.

The group of women – the wives of Korean diplomats – were taking a three-hour lecture on traditional Korean rice wine at the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in downtown Seoul last Tuesday afternoon. What they were making was azalea sticky rice makgeolli.

Read the full story at JoongAng Daily

Korea was internationally recognized as a “controlled risk” country for bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease by the world organization for animal health (OIE). Korea is now in the same level as 33 other countries in the world such as Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on Thursday Korea and Panama were given “controlled risk” status in the general session of the OIE in Paris on Tuesday.

The Scientific Commission for Animal Diseases at the OIE had made the decision in February based on documents submitted by the Korean government. Some 175 OIE member countries unanimously approved it in the general session. Before, Korea was in the group of “undetermined” countries because the disease control system was not up to the international standards.

Read the full story at The Chosun Ilbo

SEOUL — South Korea Wednesday opened a kimchi research centre to raise global demand for its iconic dish and for the country’s cuisine in general.

The agriculture ministry said the world kimchi laboratory, sited at the Korea Food Research Institute in Bundang south of Seoul, would undertake detailed research into lactic acids created by fermentation and operate a pilot plant to make prototype foods.

Kimchi is a fermented dish made by mixing pickled cabbage, radish and cucumbers with various spices and condiments.

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Korea’s beef imports decreased last year for the first time in five years amid prevailing worries over mad cow disease.

The nation imported 197,857 tons of frozen and chilled meat on a customs-cleared basis in 2009, down 11.7 percent from 224,147 tons a year before, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Korea Meat Trade Association.

Imports plunged in 2004 after Seoul banned all U.S. beef imports in the wake of the first suspected case of bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE) reported in America in late 2003.

Australia stayed Korea’s largest beef importer with 116,714 tons, ahead of the United States and New Zealand. Imports of U.S. beef in 2009 fell 6.2 percent to 49,973 tons.

In contrast, homegrown cattle, or “hanwoo,” accounted for more than 50 percent of the market, the highest share in nine years.

Read the full story at Meat Trade News Daily

South Korea aims to become one of the world’s 10 biggest exporters of farm produce by 2020.

In a decade-long master plan released Wednesday, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries aims to record $30 billion in exports of domestic products within a decade, more than six-fold from $4.8 billion in 2008, when Korea was placed 41st.

Globalization of the food industry, including the promotion of Korean cuisine, or “hansik,” is one of the five core missions to establish sustainable growth for farming and fishing related businesses.

If the plan is carried out smoothly, the food industry will reach 260 trillion won ($225.1 billion) in sales in 2020, the ministry said. For that purpose, investment will be expanded for research and development to raise food production and processing technology to the level of most advanced countries, according to the plan.

Read the full story at The Korea Times

Government authorities confirmed Thursday the second outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on a cattle farm close to where the first outbreak in eight years erupted a week ago. The farm in Pocheon, 45 kilometers north of Seoul, is only about 3.5 kilometers away from where the first outbreak was reported, stirring up concerns that the virus may spread.

FMD is rarely transmitted to humans, but it can be fatal for cloven-hoofed animals, including cows, pigs, goats and sheep.

Local quarantine officials confirmed the latest case after testing 15 Korean native “hanwoo” cows that were culled and buried early Wednesday. They showed signs of FMD symptoms, but only two of them tested positive, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Read the full story at The Korea Times

The Korea-EU free trade agreement, if it crystallizes as officials hope it will, should open a vast consumer market to Korean exporters – and bring cheaper imports to local store shelves.

The European Union market, consisting of 27 member countries with a combined population of 490 million and an annual GDP of $16.6 trillion, is Korea’s second-largest trade partner. Last year, Korea enjoyed a trade surplus with the EU of $18.4 billion.

Removal of the EU’s average tariff of about 4.2 percent on Korean goods is likely to provide great business opportunities and better margins for Korean exporters, many analysts say. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy recently estimated Korea’s gross domestic product would expand by up to 3.08 percent a year thanks to an EU FTA.

Read more at Joong Ang Daily

He has become known as the man without a suit and tie, following the wishes of his boss, President Lee Myung-bak. The president had thought the casual look to be more fitting for the nation’s minister for food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries to reflect the government’s commitment to working hand-in-hand with farmers to modernize the sector. Compared to major industries like information-technologies and automobiles, Korea’s agriculture industry is still in its nascent stages.

As much as the casual jacket replacing the suit served as a symbolic gesture a little after Minister Chang Tae-pyong’s appointment in August 2008, the nation’s top agriculture policymaker has demonstrated his undivided commitment to building the global competitiveness of an industry that is at a crossroads.

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