May 5, 2010

US dairy to remain in China

China agreed on Mon (May 3) to grant the US 30 days to work with Chinese authorities to secure agreement on a new health certificate for food-grade dairy exports to China.

Industry leaders including the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) praised the Chinese government for its recognition of the need to allow trade to continue while resolution of this complex issue is addressed by technical staff.

On April 21 the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) sent a letter to the US government notifying them that due to the lack of an agreed-upon health certificate, China planned to no longer accept US food-grade dairy products as of May 1. There had been no ongoing discussions related to an inadequacy of US certification language prior to the notification.

Swift action by the Foreign Agriculture Service, in close coordination with the US Trade Representative's Office (USTR), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed the market to remain open and enable trade to continue to flow uninterrupted.

IDFA, USDEC and NMPF indicated their intent to work closely with the US government to ensure successful resolution of this issue over the course of the next month and urged attention to the need for careful coordination among the relevant US agencies in order to secure agreement on new certificate language during this period.

The US dairy industry exports billions of dollars of dairy products all around the world with its foreign sales last year totalled US$2.3 billion.