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Korea will import an estimated W4 trillion in Chinese-made food this year. The Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries said that some W2 trillion (US$1=W932) of Chinese farm, fisheries and livestock products were imported in the first half of the year. Imports for the full year appear likely to exceed W4 trillion, compared to last year's W3 trillion.
Chinese food products are quickly becoming popular among restaurants, particularly those catering to college students and office workers.
Some 3,000 containers arrive at Incheon customs office every day, 90 percent of which are from China. Korean homes still prefer domestic produce but this is not the case with restaurants. Some 20 Korean eateries surveyed in areas around Shinchon, Ewha Womans University, Daehakno and Sillimdong were found to be using Chinese ingredients.
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Agricultural products headed for Korea pile up at a dock in Qingdao port on Monday. A peddler in his late 30s from Gunsan, North Jeolla Province said, "If you're quick witted, it's possible to import 70 kg of goods free of customs." Farmer Park Byung-man said, "This is why the rural economy is ailing. Even we farmers eat Chinese sesame and sesame oil."
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Now the trend is moving to include processed goods. A Korea Food & Drug Administration official said more than half of Chinese food imports are processed goods, and that percentage is rising.
Imports of traditional fermented seasonings such as soy sauce, soybean and chili pastes rose sharply due to eased customs inspections and low tariffs. Coffee, instant noodles, ice cream and bone byproducts are the latest additions.
Soy sauce imports grew three fold from nearly 110,000 kg in the first half of last year to 310,714 kg in the first half of this year, while chili paste doubled to 454,578 kg.
Meanwhile Chinese dogs intended for food purposes are being imported as pets. A KFDA official said that there's no way to restrict the entry of such dogs that will obviously end up as dog stew. According to the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, an airline passenger can bring in up to four animals a month as long as the person can show proof that the animals have been vaccinated.
Although there have been several health scandals involving Chinese food recently, experts point out that the quality of imports has improved drastically in the past one to two years, which is worrying in its own right.
Chinese onions, garlic and broccoli imported though legitimate channels are generally of acceptable quality. Chinese carrots, which first hit Korea's Garak Market two years ago, now command more than half of the market share.
"The advance of Chinese goods into the 32 public wholesale markets such as Garak signifies the breakdown of the domestic agro distribution system," warned an official from a nationwide group of farm goods distributors. "It's only a matter of time before Chinese produce reaches retail outlets and shows up on our dinner tables just like Chilean agro goods do these days."
The authenticity of Chinese red pepper powder is in constant dispute but demand is growing as it's rumored to work better, appearing more red, than Korean powder.
Shin Dong-hwa, a professor of food science at Chonbuk National University, said, "Chinese goods will be unmatchable if their quality improves on top of being cheaper."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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