Consumers pay 100,000 KRW per 1kg of Hanwoo... Aftermath of the spread of 'Rumpiskin Disease'

Wholesale Price Exceeds 20,000 Won per 1kg

In Chungnam and Gyeonggi provinces, the outbreak of the livestock infectious disease 'Lumpy Skin Disease' has caused the average wholesale price of Korean beef to rise by more than 10% within a week.

According to the Livestock Products Quality Evaluation Service's livestock distribution information on the 25th, the wholesale price of Korean beef was 20,053 KRW per kilogram the previous day, up 13.1% from 17,723 KRW on October 17, a week earlier. This is the first time in the past month that the wholesale price of Korean beef has exceeded 20,000 KRW per kilogram.

The consumer price per kilogram also rose by 8.1% during the same period, from 92,760 KRW on the 17th to 100,250 KRW for a grade 1 sirloin.

This is interpreted as an impact of supply and demand instability following the quarantine authorities' measures after the outbreak of Lumpy Skin Disease. Korean beef prices also experienced supply and demand instability and rose about 9% within ten days when quarantine measures were strengthened due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last May.

In fact, to prevent the spread of Lumpy Skin Disease, the quarantine authorities issued a temporary movement suspension order for all livestock facility workers and vehicles nationwide until 2 p.m. on the 22nd. In some regional farms, vaccination is being promoted, and quarantine measures are being strengthened for three weeks until antibodies are formed.

The market sees little possibility of a prolonged rise in Korean beef prices. As of July, Korean beef inventory increased by 39.6% compared to the same period last year, and the current supply instability is likely to be interpreted as temporary due to the movement suspension period under quarantine policies.

Meanwhile, since the first confirmed case of Lumpy Skin Disease in a Korean beef farm in Seosan, Chungnam on the 20th, about 30 confirmed cases have been reported over six days.

Lumpy Skin Disease is an infectious disease that only infects cattle, characterized by high fever and hard, lump-like skin nodules. It is a viral disease mainly transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as mosquitoes and was first identified in Zambia, Africa, in 1929. Although the mortality rate is below 10%, it can cause reduced milk production, miscarriages, and infertility, and is designated as a 'Class 1 livestock infectious disease' in Korea.

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