S. Korea mulls accepting Canadian beef

OTTAWA, June 28 (UPI) -- Canadian beef exports may soon be allowed back into South Korea after eight years as federal officials said a deal was in the works between Seoul and Ottawa.

South Korea was among several Southeast Asian countries that banned Canadian beef in 2003 when an Alberta cow tested positive for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.

While most other Asian markets have since reopened, Seoul has been the last holdout. Canadian International Trade Minister Ed Fast told the Calgary Sun a deal has been struck to reopen the market. The South Korean Parliament must ratify it, he said.

The deal would specify only meat from cattle younger than 30 months could be exported. Cows older than that are more likely to catch the brain-wasting disease that can be transferred to humans who eat the meat.

There have been no confirmed cases of BSE in Canadian cattle since 2005.

Alberta Beef Producers Chairman Chuck MacLean said while there are cattle farms across Canada, some 60 percent of the beef stock inventory is in Alberta. He said news of the embargo-lifting was welcome, but it came with a problem of supply.

"We have a shortage of inventory in Canada," he said. "Our inventory is down 1.5 to 2 million head of cattle now than it was in 2005."