S. Korea widens Hanwoo exports to Hong Kong as foot-and-mouth restrictions ease

Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang Province exports to resume Tuesday; restrictions narrowed to outbreak municipalities

Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang Province shipped 11 tons, $680,000 worth last year — 22% of total Hong Kong exports

Quarantine deals with Singapore, Vietnam and UAE also concluded in recent months

File photo unrelated to this article [Getty Images Bank]

South Korea will resume Hanwoo beef exports to Hong Kong from Gyeonggi Province and North Gyeongsang Province, which had been suspended following foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks. Going forward, export restrictions triggered by foot-and-mouth outbreaks will apply only to the specific city or county where the disease occurs, rather than the entire province, reducing trade disruptions caused by livestock disease.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said Monday it had concluded negotiations with Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department on improved quarantine conditions for Hanwoo exports, with the new terms taking effect Tuesday.

The central change is a narrowing of the export restriction zone. Under the previous arrangement, a single outbreak anywhere in a province would block all Hanwoo produced in that province from entering Hong Kong. Under the new terms, only Hanwoo from the city or county where an outbreak occurs will be restricted, while producers elsewhere in the same province may continue to export.

As a result, exports of Hanwoo from Gyeonggi Province and North Gyeongsang Province — suspended after foot-and-mouth outbreaks in Goyang in February and Yecheon-gun in July — will be permitted again.

The two provinces are among the main sources of Hanwoo shipped to Hong Kong. Last year, they together exported 11 tons valued at $680,000 to Hong Kong, accounting for 22 percent of total Hanwoo exports to the city.

Hanwoo exports to Hong Kong began in 2015, when the two sides concluded their first quarantine agreement. Under the terms agreed at the time, Hanwoo produced in a province where foot-and-mouth disease had been detected could not be exported to Hong Kong for one year from the date of the last recorded case.

After exports from the two provinces were suspended, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs took up the issue at the request of the Hanwoo industry, providing Hong Kong authorities with technical data on South Korea's quarantine and disease-control management. The two sides ultimately agreed to narrow the restriction unit to the city or county level.

Hanwoo and pork export performance (quarantine basis) [Provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

The latest agreement is part of a broader run of quarantine deals for livestock exports. South Korea made its first Hanwoo shipment to the UAE in October 2025, then concluded a quarantine agreement with Singapore covering Hanwoo and pork in November of that year. This April, it wrapped up a deal with Vietnam on heat-treated poultry exports, and in July it reached an agreement with Hong Kong to resume chicken exports.

The deals are already generating results. In the eight months since the Singapore agreement was concluded, South Korea exported $3.1 million worth of Hanwoo and pork to the country. Exports of halal-certified Hanwoo to the UAE totaled $340,000. Combined Hanwoo and pork export volumes rose 122 percent compared with the same period last year. The first shipment of heat-treated poultry products — including ham and nuggets — to Vietnam is expected before the end of the year.

Through July this year, South Korea exported 52 tons of Hanwoo worth $3.28 million and 102 tons of pork worth $1.6 million. For all of last year, Hanwoo exports totaled 71 tons valued at $4.65 million, while pork exports came to 79 tons worth $1.2 million.

The ministry said it plans to brief local governments, Hanwoo exporters and producer organizations on the updated quarantine conditions and will provide on-site quarantine support to help ensure smooth shipments.

"Thanks to the improved quarantine conditions negotiated with Hong Kong, we will once again be able to export Hanwoo from Gyeonggi and North Gyeongsang Province areas — including Gyeongju, Goryeong and Anseong — to Hong Kong," said Park Sang-ho, the ministry's director general for international agricultural cooperation. "We have minimized the export damage caused by livestock disease outbreaks and laid a stable foundation for exports, so we expect Hanwoo exports to become even more active going forward."

adastra@heraldcorp.com