South Korea: Beef and pork imports surge, direct and indirect damage from the abolition of tariffs

The article discusses the economic impact of the Korea-Australia and Korea-Canada Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on South Korea's agricultural sector. It highlights substantial losses in beef and pork production due to the increased importation of Australian beef and Canadian pork, with beef production falling by 61.1 billion won and pork production by 53.2 billion won over the past five years. The report also points out the adverse effects on the livestock industry from the competition of Canadian pork with beef. Additionally, the article notes a decrease in grain production due to increased barley imports from Australia and Canada, and a marginal drop in fruit production due to Australian orange imports. The damages are projected to escalate as tariffs on Australian beef and Canadian pork are phased out over time. Furthermore, the article notes a significant increase in Canadian potato imports and expects the trend to continue with the removal of tariffs on potato chips in 2022. The preliminary assessment of the impact after 15 years estimates a cumulative loss in agricultural production of 1.65 trillion won due to the Korea-Australia FTA and 480.6 billion won due to the Korea-Canada FTA.