Abstract
Meat demand represents a significant share of Korean consumer food consumption and there has been evidence of strong demand growth for beef in recent years. Some demographic trends, socio-economic characteristics, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted the demand of beef for a prolonged period. As such, the impacts of certain factors have changed motivating analyses for different time periods. Despite ample discussion on beef market differentiation, there is some evidence of decreasing differentiation. This article utilizes consumer tracking survey data for 2015, 2019, and 2021 by the Hanwoo Checkoff Board, Hanwoo Beef Demand Monitoring, which include two years of data before the COVID pandemic and one year of COVID-era data for key beef alternatives: Hanwoo beef, Holstein beef, U.S. beef, and Australian beef in the domestic market. The results indicate several beef demand determinants and factors influencing consumer demand for beef have changed. Findings from the multivariate probit model also show that significant correlations exist between beef alternatives and indicate that consumers' purchasing decisions are made on a joint basis. This study increases the understanding of the demand in the Korean beef market and suggests there is a need to carry out a more detailed approach and obtain micro data capturing more realistic consumption behaviors.
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