Gov't hangs hopes on Chuseok holiday to increase hanwoo sales as industry struggles

The government is banking on the Chuseok holiday to help boost hanwoo sales with massive discounts displayed at supermarkets nationwide.

Hanwoo, otherwise known as Korean beef, is on sale at a supermarket in Seoul, ahead of the Chuseok holiday. [YONHAP]

The government is banking on the Chuseok holiday to help boost hanwoo sales with massive discounts displayed at supermarkets nationwide.

Hanwoo, Korea’s most premier beef from a local cow breed, has been under pressure for months due to rising prices, frugal shoppers and an overabundant bovine supply.

In response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs released 500 tons of hanwoo to the market at half the price earlier this month. Until Friday, 100 grams (0.2 pounds) of top-class hanwoo sirloin was sold at between 5,500 won ($4.11) and 6,600 won and brisket at 3,190 won to 3,760 won. The prices are 20 to 40 percent lower than the same time last year, according to data from the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation (KAPE).

“There is currently a lot of Korean beef available and suppliers — the hanwoo ranches — are struggling to make a profit,” Minister Song Mi-ryung told the press at a Seoul supermarket two weeks ahead of the national holiday. “So, for this Chuseok, we have a large supply of hanwoo and we’ve prepared it at a low price, so please buy a lot of hanwoo and gift it to the ones you want to thank this year.”

Hanwoo is often given as presents during Chuseok. It is also a staple ingredient in holiday dishes, like braised beef and bulgogi (pan-fried thinly sliced, marinated beef).

The sale, however, isn’t the first one this year, and discounts on the local beef will likely continue after Chuseok as well.

The government held a bipartisan meeting with agriculture industry organizations on Sept. 10 where it concluded that stores will continue holding large-scale discounts after the fall holiday. They also discussed lowering hanwoo’s distribution prices, gradually expanding its online and direct transactions and broadening hanwoo exports.

Hanwoo prices have been adversely affected by inflation . At the very base level, it has raised the cost of rearing a cow, particularly for fodder, which has gone up 42 percent, according to the Agriculture Ministry in April.

Rising prices also led more consumers to opt for imported beef — most commonly from the United States and Australia — sold at around half the price of hanwoo.

Hanwoo's wholesale prices have dropped by around 10 percent this year from 2023, but the high distribution price, which accounts for about half the retail price, has made it difficult for consumers to get those cheaper prices. As of Sept. 9, 100 grams of hanwoo sirloin was sold for 10,545 won in supermarkets, only 3.5 percent cheaper than last year's average price, according to KAPE data.

Ranchers are being hit the hardest, as shown by their steadily declining numbers since 2021. Three years ago, there were 88,994 registered local hanwoo ranches, but Statistics Korea reported in June this year that numbers shrank by about 9,000.

The meat’s future prospects are also dull, as the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreementis expected to erase the tariffs completely on U.S. beef imports to Korea by 2026.

The government holds regular congressional and policy meetings to find ways for the hanwoo industry to remain viable. Since April, the Agriculture Ministry has been promoting “low-carbon hanwoo” with shorter breeding periods. In June, it said it would review revising the Livestock Industry Act to be more favorable to hanwoo ranchers. A handful of bills have also been proposed by congressional members to enact a “Hanwoo Law.” So far, none of them have proven to be a significant breakthrough.

But at least for this Chuseok holiday, the cheaper hanwoo has been seen as a small luxury that some shoppers have decided to splurge on.

Sixty-two-year-old Park In-sun from Seongnam, Gyeonggi, lined up to buy hanwoo bulgogi at Nonghyup Hanaro Mart in her area on Thursday. “I think it is one of the lowest prices I’ve seen for hanwoo recently,” she said, “and my kids are coming over during Chuseok, so it gives me all the more reason to buy.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]