134 thousand metric tons in 1997. The price of Hanwoo beef is generally higher than that of
imported beef. In 1997, the price of Hanwoo beef was 13,822 Won/kg, while the price of
imported beef was 5,748 Won/kg.
The major exporting countries of beef to Korea are the United States and Australia. U.S.
exports of beef increased from 42 thousand metric tons in 1993 to 83 thousand metric tons in
1997, while other country exports remained the same or increased slightly. Korea’s imports of
other meat products, mainly pork and chicken, have been sporadic and small in quantity.
The Korean meat industry is currently facing a market liberalization trend as a result of
bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. Korea’s meat imports could increase due to
commitments under the Uruguay Round of the GATT, completed in 1993. Imports of frozen
pork and chicken were liberalized on July 1, 1997 and beef imports were liberalized by January
1, 2001.
Unlike meat consumption in Korea, fish consumption has decreased about 23 percent for
the 1980-98 period. Per capita consumption of fish was 34.1 kg in 1997, which is about 29
percent higher than the total per capita meat consumption. The Korean fish industry is also
undergoing a trade liberalization process. As a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC), Korea is responsible for the early voluntary sectoral liberalization in its
fishery sector. From the APEC agreement in 1997, nine fish commodities were liberalized in
1999, and by 2007 all tariffs in the fishery sector should be eliminated.
Empirical Model and Estimation Procedure
Meat and fish products are important sources of protein in the Korean diet, and the
aggregate consumption of these products increased with increased per capita income over the