Seoul, South Korea – The South Korean government has imposed a ban on imports of pork and pork products from Germany following a recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in the European country.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs announced that it will prohibit the importation of German pork and pork products effective December 10th (based on the shipping date from Germany) after the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture reported an FMD outbreak and notified the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

The decision was made after three water buffaloes on a farm in Brandenburg, eastern Germany, died and subsequent tests by the German National Reference Laboratory confirmed the presence of the FMD virus. This marks the first FMD outbreak in Germany since 1988 and the first in Europe since Bulgaria reported a case in 2011.

The ministry will apply the import ban to shipments departing from Germany on or after December 10th. Additionally, pork products that were shipped within 14 days prior to the ban (after December 27th, 2024) and are currently en route to South Korea will undergo FMD testing before being allowed to enter the country. Furthermore, the ministry plans to closely monitor the FMD situation in neighboring countries such as Poland.

Currently, there are 16 shipments of German pork, totaling 360 tons, awaiting inspection in South Korea. Considering the shipping dates (October 26th to November 17th, 2024) and the maximum incubation period of the FMD virus (14 days), the risk of contamination is deemed low. Therefore, these shipments will undergo standard quarantine procedures and be cleared for customs clearance.

"Despite this import ban, we expect the impact on the domestic pork supply to be minimal as there are many alternative import sources," said Park Beom-su, Vice Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.