December 30, 2005

Hong Kong lifts US beef ban

The drive to restart beef trade with its former export markets has clinched another win for the United States, as Hong Kong became the latest to declare the end of a ban on US beef.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said that this move marked another step towards closer bilateral trade ties between both the US and Hong Kong.

Under the Beef Export Verification Programme, the US will export boneless beef from cattle under 30-months-old to Hong Kong. Regulatory measures put in place ensure that all beef exported meets Hong Kong's safety criteria, said the secretary.

"The USDA will continue to focus our efforts on opening additional markets in Asia and around the world by promoting the use of science-based regulations in global beef trade," Johanns added.

Hong Kong was US beef's fifth largest export market in 2003 at US$90 million of beef products, before mad cow disease halted imports in December that year. Since then, the US has regained beef trade worth US$2.8 billion, or 74 percent of 2003's export value of US$3.9 billion.