Buying frenzy greets US beef in Korea

Buying frenzy greets US beef in Korea
4/07/2008 10:38:00 AM
Meat and Livestock Australia

A buying frenzy has greeted the release of US beef in Korea, despite the mass protests from consumers concerned about potential health risks.

According to Korea's JoongAng Daily, the office at A-Meat in western Seoul has been a frenzy of activity with employees taking an average of 100 calls an hour with orders for US beef.

A-Meat is the first company to sell newly inspected US beef, which has been readmitted to the Korean market.

"We've been getting orders from all parts of the country, even from Jeju Island," said Park Jong-min, a manager at the company.

According to Money Today, an A-Meat employee said the company sold 300-400 kilograms on its second day of trading US beef, twice as much as the first day's sales.

Most customers were general consumers, making orders from their homes.

However, according to SBS, protests from angry citizens persist, with consumer groups visiting the A-Meat beef shop in Shiheung to protest their role in selling US beef.

The protesters strongly complained that there should be reliable safety measures provided before selling US beef.

The beef shop had to stop sales for about an hour while the protests went on.

But once the consumer groups started to leave, sales started again and customers constantly came in to buy US beef.