Nebraska Cattlemen welcomes today’s announcement by South Korea to fully reopen its market to U.S. beef exports. The Nebraska Cattlemen has high hopes for a dramatic increase of beef sales to South Korea. Beef sales from Nebraska to South Korea in 2003 were worth an estimated $200 million.

Restoring the trade could help Nebraska regain its claim as the No. 1 meat and live animal exporting state. Last fiscal year, Nebraska was No. 2 with $666 million in meat and live animal exports. In fiscal year, 2003 that figure was $1.03 billion.

“Today’s news can be better still when the U.S. fulfills its promise to approve a free trade agreement with S. Korea,” Nebraska Cattlemen President Larry Smith said. “The U.S. has said South Korea needed to restore beef trade before a free trade agreement could be approved. Nebraska Cattlemen was a very strong supporter of this position. Now that the South Korean government has agreed to reopen beef trade consistent with international standards, the U.S. needs to approve the free trade agreement,” he said.

“The beef trade is to be restored beginning next month,” Smith said. “Approving the free trade agreement will only make beef sales greater because the free trade agreement includes a phase out of South Korean’s 40 percent tariffs on U.S. beef. Before trade was halted in 2004, South Korea was the third largest export market for us, close to No. 2 Mexico. South Korea’s announced reopening combined with the free trade agreement could make South Korea our No. 1 export market,” Smith said.

The Nebraska Cattlemen association serves as the representative for the state’s beef cattle industry and represents professional cattle breeders, ranchers and feeders, as well as 48 county and local cattlemen’s associations. Its headquarters are in Lincoln and a second office in Alliance serves cattlemen in western Nebraska. This and other Nebraska Cattlemen information is available at www.nebraskacattlemen.org.