The First Shipment of 1.5 Tonnes of Hanwoo Beef Starts its Entry into the UAE

Sejong, 30 October 2025 — On 30 October 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) held a ceremony to mark the first official shipment of “hanwoo” beef to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the headquarters of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF or NongHyup). Hanwoo is a breed of cattle native to the Republic of Korea. Starting from 30 November 2025, the first shipment of approximately 1.5 tonnes of hanwoo beef has started its official entry into the UAE.

With this first export to the UAE, the number of the markets officially importing hanwoo beef has been expanded to five—Hong Kong, China; Malaysia; the Kingdom of Cambodia; the Lao People’s Democratic Republic; and the UAE. The UAE is a high-income nation that imports over 90% of its beef consumption, and a large portion of its beef imports comes from the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States of America. Also, the nation has a growing demand for premium beef. Thus, the UAE is expected to become a key market for hanwoo exports.

Meanwhile, the launch of hanwoo exports to the UAE will serve as an opportunity to attract potential overseas customers for hanwoo beef. In November 2025, as part of the efforts to promote hanwoo beef to overseas consumers, the MAFRA plans to recruit foreign tourists visiting the Republic of Korea to participate in hanwoo beef tasting experiences and cooking classes. The MAFRA will also develop and operate hanwoo-focused tasting and consumption tour programmes targeted at high-spending international travellers.

H.E. Kang Hyoung-Seok, Vice Minister of the MAFRA said: “The export of hanwoo beef to the UAE is not simply an expansion of export markets. It carries great significance of hanwoo’s official entry into the 1.9 billion-strong halal market. We will strengthen our support to further expand hanwoo exports and continue efforts to open new markets through quarantine negotiations.”