IARN — South Korea is experiencing another wave of positive COVID-19 cases, which has created some new challenges for U.S. meat exports.
According to Dan Halstrom – US Meat Export Federation president and CEO – the government of South Korea has re-imposed heightened social distancing requirements in the Seoul metropolitan area, including restrictions on some food and beverage providers and a suspension of large gatherings.
“In Korea we had some pretty good momentum going after their initial bout with COVID-19, but unfortunately here in the last few weeks, we’ve seen a second wave of positive cases,” Halstrom said. “Consequently, what we’re seeing is that some of this liberal opening that we saw of restaurants earlier is reversed and now we’re back to having some restrictions on the food service sector.”
“Catering in particular is impacted,” he continued, “and a real downer here is that we had a backlog of weddings that couldn’t happen because there wasn’t catering or buffets available at these five-star hotels. In June and July, we saw a lot of activity in this sector.”
Halstrom explains that while this situation presents a challenge for U.S. beef in one of its largest international destinations, the reduction in sit-down dining can be partially offset by growth in retail beef purchases and through advancements in takeout and delivery services developed during the pandemic.
“We have made a lot of advancements since the initial outbreak within the food service sector on delivery and e-commerce digital platforms,” Halstrom said. “While the in-restaurant dining is going to take a back seat for a while, we still have pretty robust platforms for restaurant delivery that will still be going strong.”
“The other thing, of course, that is really a positive is that the momentum we had earlier in the year for retail – specifically our two big partners Costco and Emart – will probably get a shot in the arm as more people stay at home.”
For more information, visit usmef.org.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
