Livestock Industry: "Duty-Free Beef and Pork? Only Importers and Distributors Benefit... Must Be Immediately Withdrawn"

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] The livestock industry strongly opposed the government's policy to apply a 0% tariff quota on imported livestock products on the 11th, demanding its immediate withdrawal.

The Livestock-Related Organizations Council (Chukdanhyeop) held a press conference at 9:30 a.m. in front of the War Memorial in Yongsan, Seoul, to condemn the government's 'duty-free import of livestock products.' Earlier, the government announced that it would apply a 0% tariff quota on imported pork, beef, and chicken until the end of this year to stabilize rapidly rising prices. The intention is to increase supply and stabilize prices.

Regarding this, Chukdanhyeop stated in their press release, "This measure is nothing more than protecting the interests of livestock product importers and distributors under the pretext of public livelihood," and appealed, "The survival rights of livestock farmers are being thoroughly ignored under the guise of price stabilization."

They added, "With the low-tariff quota (TRQ) already coming in due to free trade agreements (FTAs) signed in a 'giveaway' manner with major livestock-exporting countries, the expansion of duty-free imports is like adding fuel to the fire from the perspective of livestock farmers," and argued, "As of June, the contribution of livestock products to the 6% year-on-year inflation rate was only 0.35 percentage points, and with logistics and labor costs continuously rising, it is questionable whether this measure will ultimately contribute to stabilizing consumer prices."

They also mentioned the recent sharp rise in overseas grain prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has significantly increased feed costs for domestic livestock farmers.

Chukdanhyeop warned, "If this continues, the domestic livestock production base will collapse, and it is clear that meat, milk, and eggs on the tables of our people will be entirely imported," demanding the government fully withdraw its import livestock product tariff quota policy.

Chukdanhyeop includes livestock-related organizations such as the National Hanwoo Association, the Korea Pork Producers Association, the Korea Poultry Association, and the Korea Dairy and Beef Cattle Association as members.

In this regard, Minister Jeong Hwang-geun of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is scheduled to hold a meeting with the chairpersons of the Hanwoo Association at the government Sejong complex in the afternoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.