S. Korea's imports of pork more than double in 2011

South Korea reported a more than two- fold growth in pork imports as of early November this year compared to the same period last year, the government said Thursday. The country imported 329,743 tonnes of pork as of early this month, up 117 percent from the 151,889 tonnes imported during the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Imports from the United States more than tripled from 41,888 tonnes to 129,975 tonnes over the same period, making up 39.4 percent of the total pork imports, the ministry said. The country's imports of beef also surged with 253,132 tonnes shipped here over the same period, up 20.3 percent from the same period last year. The significant increase in the country's imports of pork and beef was largely driven by reduced domestic supply of them after the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. South Korea was forced to cull more than 3 million livestock, mostly pigs and beef, in an effort to curb the spread of the disease that broke out last November.