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Korean business organizes Hastings beef shipment
(5/04/2007) By Ginger ten Bensel A South Korean business man is in
Hastings buying beef to be shipped back to Korea. It was just a week
ago South Korea reopened its borders to U.S. beef after three and a
half years.
As Richard Lee, the Purchasing Manager for JTI,
a Korean Meat company, selects the beef processed at "Premium Protein
Products," he is pleased with the results.
“They are customer–oriented. They are willing to go the extra mile to please their customer,” said Lee.
Lee originally planned to purchase 5500 pounds of beef, but once he
visited the plant, he chose to buy 10,000 pounds for his first shipment
of beef to Korea.
“We have been waiting for this for three and a half years. We have full
confidence that we will get back to full scale and even more,” Lee
said.
Lee said during the ban, beef sold in Korea was priced higher than anywhere else in the world.
“After the ban, the affect on the consumer was feeling was five to six
times higher then the U.S. on the consumer level,” Lee said.
The CEO of Premium Protein Products Steve Sands says for his company, this shipment is a big step in the export business.
“We perform to our customer expectations, in addition to performing to the government expectations,” said Sands.
Sands said it is not only good for his business but for the beef business as a whole.
“Export markets purchased almost $3 billion a year of U.S. beef, and
the industry has been missing that $3 billion over the last three and a
half years,” said Sands.
This is just the beginning. Premium Protein Products will be shipping
40,000 pounds of beef to Richard Lee's company in Korea on a regular
basis in the near future.
“People are staving for U.S. beef,” said Lee.
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