Seoul: South Korea began exporting its premium "hanwoo" beef to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, marking the Middle Eastern nation as the fifth official overseas market for the esteemed meat, as announced by the agriculture ministry.
According to Yonhap News Agency, approximately 1.5 tons of hanwoo, valued at 250 million won (US$175,426), were shipped to the UAE via Incheon International Airport. The UAE joins Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos as destinations for South Korean hanwoo exports.
The UAE, which imports over 90 percent of its beef, is anticipated to become a significant market for Korean beef exports due to the increasing local demand for premium meat. The Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. (aT) highlighted that the government plans to leverage the successful halal-certified hanwoo export to the UAE as a springboard to penetrate the Singaporean market and expand into larger halal markets such as Indonesia.