Export of Korean Hanwoo Beef to Cambodia... Expected to Start as Early as Next Month

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Hold Hanwoo Launch Show in Cambodia in August

Exports of Korean Hanwoo beef to Cambodia are expected to officially begin as early as next month. In line with this, there are plans to conduct promotional activities directly on-site.

According to officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and livestock-related distribution industry representatives on the 6th, contracts with Cambodian buyers for Hanwoo beef exports are in the final stages, making full-scale exports possible from July. Samples of Hanwoo beef will be sent to Cambodia between the end of this month and early next month, and export volumes will be finalized. According to the Ministry, last week, the Cambodian buyers and our export company Taeu Green Food met and agreed on these details.

Currently, the countries with which South Korea has sanitary and quarantine agreements allowing Hanwoo beef exports are Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates), totaling five countries. However, until now, Hong Kong has accounted for the majority of export volumes, and exports to Macau were made through Hong Kong. Malaysia had no export records due to the lack of Halal certification (products permissible for Muslims to consume and use), but this became possible after the Malaysian Halal certification body 'Jakim' approved a domestic slaughterhouse at the end of March this year. In the case of Cambodia, the last Hanwoo export was in the fourth quarter of 2019, but it was only about 1 to 2 tons, a negligible amount.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to hold a meeting with export companies on the 7th regarding Hanwoo beef exports. A ministry official stated, "We plan to discuss measures to expand export volumes, such as designating specialized production farms and quality control methods." Since the government announced last year its goal to increase Hanwoo beef exports from just 44 tons to 200 tons within the year, the ministry has held several related meetings.

Just as a launch event was held in Malaysia in May alongside the signing of the first export contract, the ministry is planning a Hanwoo beef export launch event to be held locally in Cambodia in August. A ministry official said, "We initially planned to hold it between June and July, but since Cambodia's general election is scheduled for July 23, we decided to hold it afterward."

However, it remains uncertain how close the export volume will come to the government's target of 200 tons. South Korea's Hanwoo beef export volume recorded 65 tons in 2018 but declined to 44 tons last year. Moreover, with the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in May after four years, the country has not regained its foot-and-mouth disease-free status. A ministry official explained, "Both Malaysia and Cambodia allow exports except for cattle originating from Chungbuk, a region affected by foot-and-mouth disease, due to quarantine negotiation conditions. Regarding Malaysia, which recently succeeded in signing a contract, they said 'it does not matter at this time,' so we plan to send samples within this week."

In addition to Cambodia, the ministry is continuing work related to exports to the UAE. Since the UAE is also an Islamic cultural region, it operates its own Halal certification system. The ministry announced plans to invite UAE government officials related to Halal certification in July.