Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

U.S. beef misgivings for Thanksgiving


http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2894152
Korea�s major retailers will not be selling U.S. beef during Chuseok this year as they fear the public is still hostile to the overseas meat.
The top three discount stores Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus all said they will not stock U.S. beef over the holiday and will mostly sell hanwoo, or Korean beef, instead. Chuseok is the Korean Thanksgiving.
�We are not selling U.S. beef this year and will continue that practice. Consumers still seem to distrust the meat�s safety,� said Na Geun-tae, manager at Lotte Mart, �although with the rise in consumer prices we expect less expensive Chuseok gift sets to do well. For meat, it�s all about high-quality hanwoo.�
In preparation, Lotte Mart has secured around 10 percent more hanwoo sets this year than last year. Its top-quality hanwoo brand �Jirisan Sunhanhanwoo� will cost 380,000 won ($349) for around 5 kilograms (11 pounds).
E-Mart said it has increased its premium hanwoo stock by 40 percent more than last year. �There is no reason for us to sell U.S. beef because our hanwoo brands are doing well and consumers are reluctant to buy U.S. beef,� said Lee Nam-kon, a manager at E-Mart.

Homeplus said that the ratio of hanwoo to Australian beef to be sold during the Chuseok holidays is 8 to 2. With the exception of beef, mid- to low-price gift sets will be popular due to the rise in consumer prices, the three discount stores said. �For fish, we have reduced the quantity of high-end items like Jeju tilefish and increased the number of cheaper sets, like dried seaweed sets,� said Lee.

Soaring consumer prices will also raise the average cost for charyesangsang, the traditional meal for ancestor worship during this festival.

The cost of the meal will go up by 9.4 percent on-year, according to the Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corp. yesterday. The corporation said with Chuseok coming earlier in the harvest season this year, the hike in fruit and vegetable prices is the main reason for the rise.


By Cho Jae-eun Staff Reporter[[email protected]]

[wylies99]

Cowards.

The first big chain store to sell US beef will face some protests, but will also make a FORTUNE.

In business to do business?

[pkang0202]

[ttompatz]

[bobranger]

It's funny how protesters dictate options to the whole population. With consumer prices rising, I thank those loud mouth politicaly driven few make the choice for me. Oh yeah, as grain prices rise so will the price of Korean grown beef.

[wylies99]

Korean consumers need to stand up for themselves. We all know they want US beef, but they let a couple of yahoos push them around.