South Korea’s imports of U.S. beef surpassed Australian beef to dominate the local market for the first time in 14 years last year. 

According to data from the Korea Rural Economic Institute on Monday, South Korea imported 177-thousand tons of American beef last year, up 13-point-five percent from a year earlier.

The figure is larger than that of Australian imports, which have dominated the Korean beef market since 2004.

The country's imports of Australian beef came to 173-thousand tons last year, down four percent on-year. 

It is the first time that U.S. beef dominated the South Korean market in terms of yearly data since 2003, after the Seoul government banned U.S. beef in the wake of a mad cow disease outbreak. 

South Korea lifted the ban to accept beef from cattle less than 30 months old in late 2008 after a series of negotiations with Washington between 2006 and June 2008.