South Korea's chicken imports hit record low in Aug amid reduced Brazilian supply

South Korea's frozen chicken meat imports hit a record low in August, falling 7% month over month and 26% year over year to 12,535 mt, Korea Customs Service data showed Sept. 15, with market sources attributing the drop to reduced Brazilian supply amid trade restrictions in place since May.

Imports from Brazil fell 48% on the month and 68% on the year, to 4,582 mt in August.

South Korea imposed a ban on Brazilian chicken meat from May 19 to June 18 following an H5N1 bird flu outbreak detected on May 16. Although the ban has been lifted, supplies are slowly arriving due to ongoing buyer-seller negotiations and long shipment duration.

"Shipments from Brazil typically take 45 to 60 days to reach Busan port, with most volumes expected by mid-September," a South Korean importer said.

Additionally, "Brazil is facing a supply shortage due to low slaughter rates," another South Korean importer said.

Thailand emerged as South Korea's largest chicken meat supplier in August, at 7,177 mt, up 93% on the month and 241% on the year, as importers turned to the Thai market to fill the supply gaps left by Brazil.

Sweden became the third-largest supplier with 406 mt, while inflows from Denmark and the US reached 161 mt and 122 mt, respectively. Together, these three countries accounted for 5% of imports.

Despite low import volumes for August, market sources said they expected that inventory would soon return to healthy levels.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed CFR North Asia chicken leg at $2,300/mt on Sept. 15, unchanged day over day.

South Korea's chicken meat imports by origin (mt)

Source: Korea Customs Service