The objective of the seminar was to present and discuss the best practices for productivity improvement of parent stock for all Ross customers and contribute to the overall efficiency of the Korean broiler industry. Mr. Bae, President of Sam Hwa GPS Breeding Agri Inc., said that his company has operated for over 20 years as the Ross distributor and always makes an effort to assist and support their customers by having the best chick quality and consistent supply. He believes that the improvement in productivity through effective farm sanitation and good management are very important to survive in an open market which often has to compete with worldwide producers.
The Korean market has performed well and continued to grow in 2011 in spite of a series of outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza during the first half of the year. Prices hit new highs due to increased consumer demand resulting from the shortage of local pork and fears about fishery products being contaminated by radiation from the nuclear power plant in Japan. Feed price increases during the year did not appear to impact production and a consumer survey by the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) indicated that over 80% of respondents had switched a portion of their pork consumption to another meat, much of it was chicken. The outlook for the market is good with consumption in 2012 expected to grow by 3%, local production continue increasing by a further 5% and imports anticipated to decline about 10%.
The highly successful seminar was organized by the technical service groups of both host companies and was in response to several requests from the growing Ross customer base in South Korea for more in-depth technical support on how to obtain the best parent stock performance. The excellent response to the event was a good indication of the preference for Ross in the Korean market and the desire to make the most of the growth predicted for the market next year.
