China has lifted its five-year ban on the import of pig and sow skins from the US.

In a letter to its US counterpart, the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ ) in Beijing has announced that US pig skin exports can resume immediately under the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) existing animal by-product certificate, the same certificate used for cattle hides.

Along with many other US pork products, pig skin products were restricted from import in China in 2009 following the H1-N1 swine flu epidemic, despite H1-N1 being non-transferrable to humans or animals via animal products.

And while most US pork products got back on track in China shortly after the restrictions were put in place, the skins were still disallowed.

"Reopening the Chinese market to pig and sow skins is a tremendous opportunity for US firms," said USHSLA president Stephen Sothmann. "I want to thank the China Leather Industry Association and the US Department of Agriculture for their efforts to secure access to this important market."

The US exported 5.3 million pieces of pig and sow skins last year, valued at about US$57 million and since China is the largest leather producing country in the world, this represents a big opportunity to increase the value of US exports. In 2008, exports to China of pig and sow skins amounted to nearly $23 million before restrictions of imports were imposed.