Right now both producers and exporters are making little and, in some cases, no profit because of overall spiralling costs combined with consumer inability to pay higher prices.

However, sales of chilled Australian beef to South Korea are up from last year on a five-year ascending trend, Meat and Livestock Australia's Korea regional manager, Glen Feist, says.

"Frozen beef is down as importers are trying to keep stocks to a minimum in the hope the Australian dollar continues to go down and prices follow, coupled with the uncertainty surrounding US prices and accompanying consumer interest," Feist said.

So far, most sales of US beef have been limited to neighbourhood butcher shops because major grocery chains, hypermarkets and restaurants weren't stocking it because of ongoing public health concerns related to mad cow disease.

But they were now starting to feel uneasy as they were about to lose out on one of the hottest selling holidays of the year, Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day on September 14), The Korea Times has reported.

Industry sources said the most popular hypermarket chains like E-Mart, Homeplus and Lotte Mart, as well as department stores, had already completed their Chuseok orders in June with Australian beef.

For full and related stories see Stock & Land September 4.