Due to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Impact, Grade 1 Hanwoo Wholesale Price Rises 9%

As of the 19th, 14,395 KRW per kg
9.3% increase compared to 13,170 KRW ten days ago

Due to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease centered around a Hanwoo cattle farm in Chungbuk, the wholesale price of first-grade Hanwoo beef has risen by about 9% in ten days.

Hanwoo Gift Set at Lotte Department Store Main Branch, Jung-gu, Seoul / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to the Livestock Products Quality Evaluation Service's livestock distribution information and Yonhap News on the 21st, the wholesale price of first-grade Hanwoo beef was 14,395 KRW per kilogram as of the 19th, up 9.3% from 13,170 KRW per kilogram on the 9th, before the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

The wholesale price of first-grade Hanwoo beef rose to the 14,000 KRW per kilogram range on the 11th, one day after the outbreak, and exceeded 15,000 KRW on the 16th. Looking at the average wholesale price of Hanwoo beef across all grades, it increased from 15,003 KRW per kilogram on the 9th to 16,580 KRW on the 16th, then dropped to 15,162 KRW on the 19th.

The government explained that the recent strength in Hanwoo beef prices is due to strengthened foot-and-mouth disease quarantine measures. To prevent the spread of the disease, quarantine authorities required all cloven-hoofed animal farms nationwide (including cattle and pigs) to complete vaccination by the previous day. Additionally, until the 30th, the import and export of cattle have been restricted not only in Cheongju and Jeungpyeong-gun in Chungbuk, where the foot-and-mouth disease occurred, but also in seven adjacent cities and counties including Daejeon and Sejong, and cattle markets have been closed.

Some concerns have been raised that if foot-and-mouth disease spreads further, the beef prices may rise more due to strengthened quarantine measures and shortages in livestock supply. However, the government assessed that the possibility of nationwide spread is low due to vaccination and predicted that a sharp rise in livestock product prices is unlikely.

Since the 10th, foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed at 11 farms located in Cheongju and Jeungpyeong-gun, and a total of 1,571 cattle and goats raised on these farms have been culled.

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