By Bae Keun-min
Staff Reporter

A total of 14,200 tons of beef were shipped into Korea this year from Washington State where a suspected case of mad cow disease was reported earlier this week.

It is estimated that 10,000 tons have already been consumed in Korea with the remaining 4,000 tons waiting for distribution at warehouses.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and the U.S. customs office, Washington State exported $40.64 million worth of beef to South Korea last year, accounting for 6.2 percent of all U.S. beef exports to Korea.

MAF said on Thursday that imported beef, which had passed the customs clearance process before the government’s suspension on clearance was issued Wednesday, will be distributed to the market. As a result, beef from Washington State is expected to show up in stores.

Consumers are changing their dietary habits following the news of the deadly mad cow disease in the United States and the spread of bird flu and duck diseases across Korea.

Large supermarket outlets such as E-Mart and Home Plus have taken U.S. beef off their shelves. An E-Mart official said beef sales have dropped to almost nothing, even when replaced with local meat, and that customers are buying seafood instead.

MAF stated it may increase beef imports from Australia and New Zealand in addition to boosting the supply of Korean beef to fill the expected shortage following the suspension Wednesday of customs clearance of American beef and related products.

The government said it has stockpiles of non-American beef, which is enough to meet domestic demand for the next three months. American beef accounts for 68.2 percent of Korea’s beef imports and 44 percent of domestic consumption.

The government made the announcement to cope with a possible price hike of non-American beef prices following the announcement of the temporary import ban on U.S. beef.

MAF said that except for such so-called specified risk material, such as crania, backbones, marrow, brain, eyes and some internal organs, beef and beef products, including liver and knee cartilage, are safe from the disease.

A World Health Organization official said the possibility is amazingly low for humans to contract Varient Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) from eating beef, according to Bloomberg news agency.

The government issued the suspension of customs clearance of U.S. beef to stave off the possible spread of the bovine disease in the country after U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Dr. Ann M. Veneman, announced that a suspected case of mad cow disease in Washington State tested positive in preliminary laboratory results.

kenbae@koreatimes.co.kr