South Korea | U.S. Beef Met By Enthusiasm And Protest In Retail Store Return...

South Korea

U.S. Beef Met By Enthusiasm And Protest In Retail Store Return

U.S. beef was met today (July 13) at Lotte Mart, a large discount-store chain in South Korea, with excitement from customers who anticipated once again enjoying high quality, affordable U.S. beef. At the same time, in a handful of stores, there were protests from those who still oppose U.S. beef imports, citing concerns about U.S. beef safety.

Still, USMEF reports 5 metric tons, or more than 11,000 pounds, of U.S. beef was sold at Lotte Mart stores on Friday. Lotte officials reported that U.S. beef sales were more than four times what they normally expect to sell of imported meats on a Friday.

“We saw housewives fighting each other to buy U.S. beef,” said USMEF Korea Director Jihae Yang. “Due to protests, some stores decided to pull product from the shelves temporarily, leaving many disappointed. Customers want to buy U.S. beef.”

Protestors surrounded meat counters in a handful of Lotte Mart stores. Some carried signs while others bought U.S. beef and then burned it outside of the stores. Police were called in to restrain protestors and seven of the 53 outlets decided to suspend U.S. beef sales for the day. At those stores, customers waiting to purchase U.S. beef became frustrated that they were not able to buy it. Before U.S. beef was pulled from shelves at the Seoul store, Lotte officials said they had sold 330 pounds of beef.

To read more about U.S. beef returning to retail stores, see the USMEF news release.

South Korea

U.S. Beef Met By Enthusiasm And Protest In Retail Store Return

U.S. beef was met today (July 13) at Lotte Mart, a large discount-store chain in South Korea, with excitement from customers who anticipated once again enjoying high quality, affordable U.S. beef. At the same time, in a handful of stores, there were protests from those who still oppose U.S. beef imports, citing concerns about U.S. beef safety.

Still, USMEF reports 5 metric tons, or more than 11,000 pounds, of U.S. beef was sold at Lotte Mart stores on Friday. Lotte officials reported that U.S. beef sales were more than four times what they normally expect to sell of imported meats on a Friday.

“We saw housewives fighting each other to buy U.S. beef,” said USMEF Korea Director Jihae Yang. “Due to protests, some stores decided to pull product from the shelves temporarily, leaving many disappointed. Customers want to buy U.S. beef.”

Protestors surrounded meat counters in a handful of Lotte Mart stores. Some carried signs while others bought U.S. beef and then burned it outside of the stores. Police were called in to restrain protestors and seven of the 53 outlets decided to suspend U.S. beef sales for the day. At those stores, customers waiting to purchase U.S. beef became frustrated that they were not able to buy it. Before U.S. beef was pulled from shelves at the Seoul store, Lotte officials said they had sold 330 pounds of beef.

To read more about U.S. beef returning to retail stores, see the USMEF news release.