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Korea’s self-sufficiency rate of pork dropped to the lowest point ever last year due to massive culling of pigs in the wake of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease outbreaks, government data showed yesterday.
The self-sufficiency ratio of the meat stood at 60.3 percent at the end of last year, down 20.6 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the data provided by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
About 3.3 million pigs were culled nationwide due to the disease.The massive culling led to more imports of pork throughout the year, causing the country’s self-sufficiency rate to drop to the lowest level in history, the ministry said.
Korea produced 569,000 tons of pork last year, down 192,000 tons from a year earlier.
Pork imports, meanwhile, more than doubled to 374,000 tons over the same period.
Monday January 9, 2012/ Korea Joongang Daily/ Korea.
http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com
