By Bae Keun-min
Staff reporter

The government temporarily suspended imports of American beef on Wednesday after a suspected case of mad cow disease in the Washington State tested positive in early laboratory results.

The ban is expected to cause serious problems in the beef supply as U.S. beef accounts for some 40 percent of domestic consumption.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) said on Wednesday that it has decided to suspend customs clearance for all U.S. beef and beef products at the nation’s airports and seaports.

The ban, which was also applied to all ruminants meats and products from the U.S., was issued to stave off the possible spread of mad cow disease in the country, MAF said.

The customs clearance suspension amounts to an import ban.

The clearance of U.S. beef bone powders and sera, which are commonly used to make cosmetics and medicine, were also suspended, along with internal organs. Milk and milk products were excluded.

Several other countries like Japan and Singapore also banned imports of U.S. beef yesterday. Canada, however, will keep its border open to the U.S. products for the time being, saying that it would take action if there were any significant new developments over the next 48 hours, according to the Associated Press.

The New York Times yesterday quoted U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Ann M. Veneman, as saying on Tuesday that a sick cow slaughtered on Dec. 9 at a farm in Mabton, Washington, has tested positive for mad cow disease in early laboratory results, the first such case in the United States.

But, a MAF official said it has decided to issue a temporary clearance suspension since the final results have not come.

``After the final results are released, which is expected to be available next week, we will decide whether to issue a total ban or lift the suspension,’’ a MAF official said. ``The suspension will be halt the imports for the time being.’’

In addition to the clearance suspension, MAF has prohibited the circulation of U.S. beef and beef products stored in quarantine warehouses, while considering inspection of those already in circulation.

MAF said it will keep watch over 753 live cows imported from the U.S. for the first time in December.

With the clearance suspension, there is a rising concern about potential hikes in the price of beef. Last year, imported beef accounted for 63.4 percent of domestic meat consumption of 457,700 tons in Korea, while the United States accounted for 63.8 percent of those imports.

In the first 10 months of this year, the portion of U.S. beef imports rose to 68.2 percent, or 187,300 tons, out of the total imports of 274,700 toms.

Because customers are avoiding chicken and duck out of fear from the on-going bird flu outbreak in Korea, demand for domestic beef may rise, which will pull up the prices of local products.

At present, South Korea bans beef imports from Britain, France, Japan, Canada and 15 other countries hit by mad cow disease. Australia is now the last remaining major beef exporter with access to the domestic market.

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr