Half of Wine Shipments in Korea Come from Europe

 
Nearly 70 percent of pork imports and a half of wine shipments that entered the Korean market in the first half of the year were from European countries, a report found yesterday. According to a report by the Korea Customs Service, pork shipments from EU-member countries accounted for 33,233 tons, or 69 percent, of the total amount of the meat imports in the first six month of the year. By value, the pork imports from Europe were worth $114.77 million, it said.

Austria topped the list of countries exporting pork to Asia's fourth-largest economy with 6.713 tons, followed by Belgium and France with 6,009 tons and 5,439 tons, respectively. The Netherlands ranked fourth with 5,310 tons followed by Spain with 3,357 tons.

Chile, as a non-EU member country, was the biggest exporter of pork to Korea with 1,778 tons followed by Canada and the United States with 2,350 tons and 1,888 tons, respectively.

The upcoming free trade deal between Korea and the 27-member economic bloc will make EU pork more competitive as the pact eliminates 25 percent of tariffs on the unit price of frozen pork product, experts said.

Currently, 1 kilogram of domestic pork products is priced at 7,700 won ($6.11) while imported pork from the European Union is being sold at 5,100 won per kilogram.

The expected elimination of tariffs will cut the price of pork to 4,200 won per kilogram, reports here said.

The tariff phasing-out period for frozen pork imports is ten years after the FTA deal takes effect.

A total of 5,451 tons or a little more than 50 percent of wine imports also came from the European Union, the report said. By value, wine shipments from Europe were worth $307 billion, it said.

Spain topped the list of EU-member countries exporting wine with 1,909 tons followed by France and Italy with 1,650 tons and 1,434 tons, respectively. Germany and Hungary were placed at fourth and fifth with 298 tons and 121 tons.

Chile was the biggest exporter of wine to Korea with 2,328 tons followed by the Unites States and Australia with 1,437 tons and 877 tons.

The FTA deal with the European Union will also make wine imports from the economic bloc more competitive than items from other regions as it lifts the current 15 percent of tariff on the unit price of the products, experts said.

Korea and the European Union will be ready to meet the September target for officially signing their free-trade agreement pact, government officials said. Negotiations for the trade pact began in May 2007. Bilateral trade reached $98.4 billion in 2008. The European Union is Korea's second-largest trading partner after China and its largest foreign investor. Korea is the European Union's eighth-largest trade partner.