June 27, 2013

China's ban on clenbuterol does not rule out US pork imports

China's Ministry of Commerce said that the Chinese market is still open to US pork and the statement that the country bans the import of pork from the US is totally unfounded.

The US is the largest source of pork imports into China, and the volume of such imports has been on the rise in past years, according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce.

China's imports of US pork increased from 80,000 tonnes in 2009 to 590,000 tonnes last year. And during the first four months of the year, the figure has reached 120,000 tonnes.

"What is banned in China is clenbuterol, and it's strictly required that all the pork imported from other countries into China should not have this chemical in it," Shen said.

The concerns stirred by the take-over of the world's largest pork producer - the US-based Smithfield Foods Inc. - by China's Shuanghui International, indicating that the deal would affect US food safety, are not relevant at all, Shen added.

He added that he also hopes that the US government will deal with the acquisition deal fairly and properly.