"Korean Beef Prices Rising, and Now U.S. Beef Too? Trump's Unexpected Drastic Move"

Rising Domestic Korean Beef Prices Drive Reliance on Imports

Drought and Parasites Add Woes as U.S. Bets on "Wolf Hunting" to Stabilize Market

As domestic Korean beef prices continue to soar, increasing the burden on both the restaurant industry and consumers, attention is turning to what impact U.S. President Donald Trump's price stabilization measures—aimed at boosting beef supply even by allowing the hunting of wolves that threaten livestock—will have on the Korean imported beef market.

The gray wolf is the largest wild animal in the Canidae family. National Wildlife Federation

On the 5th (local time), the BBC reported that President Trump had signed an executive order at the White House the previous day removing the endangered species protections for gray wolves and Mexican wolves. This has officially opened the door for ranchers to hunt wolves in order to protect their livestock.

According to data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the number of Mexican wolves was only four in 1998, but various protection measures have increased their population in the wild to 319 as of last year. There are approximately 18,000 gray wolves spread across the United States, but as the majority of their habitats are being destroyed by human activities, gray wolves are also classified as "endangered species."

Drought and Parasites Drive Surge in “U.S. Beef” Prices

The Trump Administration's decision to implement this measure comes amid record-high beef prices. Due to drought and the spread of parasites, the U.S. cattle inventory has dropped to 86.2 million head—the lowest number in 75 years—while beef demand has risen by 10% over the past decade.

Cattle are grazing in a prairie in Texas. Icestock

The reasons ranchers have not been able to increase cattle numbers are complex. First, various areas of Texas have been experiencing severe or worse drought since 2020. A couple operating a ranch of 8,400 acres (approximately 10.2 million pyeong) near Fort McKavett, Texas, reduced their herd from over 300 to 185 head. In this region, 24 acres (about 29,000 pyeong) are needed for each cow because the pasture is so dry that grass growth is limited.

Nasa worm infection has been spreading in Central America since 2023, gradually moving northward, and was also reported in Mexico at the end of last year. Reuters·Yonhap News

In addition, the discovery of the parasite “New World screwworm”—which survives by eating the flesh of live animals—in a Texan calf last June, the first such case in 60 years, has further worsened the supply shortage. Since then, both quarantine costs have increased and live cattle futures prices in the U.S. declined intraday by about 0.8%. President Trump initially aimed to lower prices by easing restrictions on imported beef, but strong backlash from domestic ranchers facing declining profitability pushed him to opt for lifting wolf protections as a move to placate the livestock industry.

Environmental Groups Push Back: “No Link Between Wolf Killing and Cattle Population”

However, environmental and wildlife protection organizations criticize the policy as both ineffective and harmful to the ecosystem. They point out that attacks by wolves on livestock are extremely rare, so the impact on rancher incomes is negligible. Under current laws, up to 100% of livestock damages caused by wolves are compensated, and state-level damage prevention programs are also in effect.

According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), 14 cases of livestock damage have been confirmed from November 2021 to the present. The photo shows a Mexican wolf feeding on cattle carcasses. Oregon Cattlemen's Association. Photo by Oregon Cattlemen's Association

Claire Mercer, head of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, warned that simply because wolf numbers have grown somewhat does not mean wolf recovery is complete, stating, “Weakening federal protections now would undo decades of painstaking restoration work in an instant.”

However, the executive order President Trump signed does not immediately grant ranchers the "right to hunt wolves." Instead, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has been given a 90-day deadline to assess whether the gray wolf and Mexican wolf populations have recovered enough to be removed from the endangered species list. If the Department of the Interior proceeds with the process to remove their protections, environmental groups have stated they will immediately initiate legal action, as they have done in the past.

Korean Beef Prices Spike and Imported Supply Also Unstable

Meanwhile, the domestic supply of Korean beef continues to decline. According to the Korea Institute for Animal Products Quality Evaluation, as of September 4, the price of Korean beef tenderloin per 100 grams was 15,308 KRW, up 19.9% compared to the same period last year. Sirloin also increased by 22.6% year-on-year. As Korean beef prices continue to rise, beef imports are also increasing. According to Korea Customs Service, beef imports from January to July this year rose 7.8% compared to the same period last year.

A shopper purchasing Korean beef at Lotte Department Store. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

In particular, from this year, tariffs on U.S. beef have been completely eliminated under the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, and with over 300,000 tons already imported last year, the share of U.S. beef in the domestic market is very high. The Korea Rural Economic Institute projects that total beef imports this year will reach about 436,000 tons. The institute also predicts that, in the mid- to long-term, as tariffs decrease and import unit prices fall, beef imports will increase even further.

A representative of the Korean beef industry remarked, “There is a high possibility that restaurants and butchery businesses will choose imported beef to reduce cost burdens caused by the rise in Korean beef prices. However, instead of relying solely on the unstable imported beef market, there is an urgent need to come up with practical measures to maintain the price competitiveness of domestically produced beef.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.