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Sales of high-quality domestic beef and pork have increased in Korea amid the mad cow disease scare gripping the nation. Since Korea reopened its market to imports of U.S. beef, department stores have been marketing "premium" Korean beef, leading to sales of local beef growing by more than 10 percent on average. In contrast, sales of imported beef, including from Australia, have declined.
Between April 19, when Korea reopened its market to U.S. beef, and May 5, Hyundai Department Store saw sales of its "1++" grade premium local beef increase by 16 percent year-on-year. The store's overall sales of local beef increased by more than 20 percent, as the price of local beef fell by 5 to 10 percent in this period.
Following a similar marketing strategy, Shinsegae Department Store saw its sales of high-end local beef jump by 30 percent during the period of April 28 to May 3 as compared with the week before.
Hong Sung-tai, a professor of business administration at Hanyang University, said, "In many cases, price points are related to degrees of food safety. Consumers tend to believe that the more expensive the beef is, the safer it will be."
Sales of pork, seen as an "alternative meat" to imported beef, have also increased. A survey by GS Retail of 13 GS Mart outlets and 92 GS Supermarkets nationwide from April 19 to May 3 found a 19.5 percent increase in pork sales year-on-year. In contrast, sales of Australian beef decreased by 2.7 percent during the same period. Sales of pork at large discount stores, such as E-Mart and Homeplus, also increased by more than 15 percent on average year-on-year.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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