News Pigs
South Korea allows import of German pork again
South Korea has reopened its borders to German pork. This ends the import ban that was introduced two and a half years ago because of the outbreaks of African swine fever in German pig farming.
Read this article?
Become a subscriber and get instant access
Choose the subscription that suits you
The removal of the South Korean import ban applies to three German slaughterhouses that are located in regions where ASF has not been found. South Korea agreed to the regionalization proposal of the German Ministry of Agriculture to be able to export pork again from regions that are not affected. Germany has been lobbying for this since 2020, but so far without results.
The fact that South Korea is now changing tack is therefore a relief for German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir. “We are working to lift restrictions on German pork in other countries, with a particular priority in China,” he said Ozdemir.
In 2019, South Korea imported more than 100.000 tons of pork from Germany, making it the most important sales market outside Europe after China. Pork bellies are especially popular in the Asian country. The export had an export value of just €300 million.