China to lift ban on US beef

China is now willing to begin negotiations to lift a six-year Chinese ban on US beef, USDA Under Secretary Jim Miller said Wednesday (June 16).

US and Chinese government officials have discussed resuming beef trade several times over the past year, but it was after the recent US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Beijing that Miller said he received a letter from Chinese Vice Minister Wei Chuanzhong that showed "a willingness to further engage" on China's beef ban.

"We are now trying to figure out an appropriate time and venue to get our technical people here at USDA together with the appropriate folks from China to initiate those discussions with a goal toward creating market access for US beef," Miller said.

China banned US beef in December 2003 after the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was discovered in the US. Back then, US beef exports to China were relatively small - about US$23 million worth in 2003.

The potential market China represents now, though, is much larger and growing, according to Miller and US industry representatives.

Gregg Doud, chief economist for the US-based National Cattlemen's Beef Association, said the Chinese beef market could be worth US$200 million a year now to US exporters if the ban was lifted.