by Will Jordan and USMEF
China’s General Administration of Customs recently approved 18 U.S. beef establishments and 12 U.S. pork establishments for export to China – the first new U.S. plants cleared for export to China in about 10 months.
Erin Borror, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) vice president for economic analysis, says the plant approval process was streamlined by the U.S.-China Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement and it has worked well since this agreement was implemented in early 2020. But the recent delay was concerning for the U.S. meat industry, so the new round of approvals was a “big sigh of relief.”
Borror notes that while beef shipments to China are down from the record-large volumes of 2022, China is still the fourth largest destination for U.S. beef exports and has strong upside potential. While pork muscle cut shipments to China are also trending lower this year, China remains the largest destination for U.S. pork variety meat exports – which are up 9% year-over-year to China and 15% higher globally.