American beef that once had been shunned by Koreans over mad cow scare reclaimed the past glory of being responsible for more than half of imported beef that goes on Korean tables.

According to data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on Monday, U.S. beef imports during the January to October period this year amounted to $989 million, taking up 50.7 percent in the nation’s imported beef market.

American beef took up more than 50 percent of the market for imports from 1993 to 2003 when its share in the local market hit an all-time high of 75.9 percent. In 2004, however, the share plummeted to 17.5 percent as the country banned the imports of U.S. beef in 2003 following mad cow disease outbreak in the U.S.

The country eased the ban from 2008 allowing in meat from cattle aged less than 30 months after holding several rounds of talks with the U.S. from 2006 to 2008.

The mad cow disease scare triggered a nation-wide protest in the early days of import resumption, but the market share of American beef has steadily increased since then. The gain is largely attributable to the free trade deal between Korea and the U.S. that took effect in 2012, according to market experts.

U.S. beef took up the largest share in the local imported beef market over the first 10 months of this year, after accounting for 37.4 percent in 2012, 42.2 percent in 2014 and 46.2 percent in 2016.

Meanwhile, the share of Australian brand fell to 43.6 percent during the same period, after reaching its peak of 78.8 percent in 2006.

By Woo Je-yoon and Choi Mira

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