January 21, 2010

Canada work to restore pork exports to China

Canadian food officials are confident the export of pork to China will resume once issues are resolved surrounding Chinese requirements for supplementary certification of processing plants.

China banned the import of Canadian pork from Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec in May 2009 following the discovery of the AH1N1 flu virus in an Alberta swine herd.
 

The ban was officially lifted at the beginning of December, but Canadian pork exports to China remained stalled.
 

Representatives of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International trade have been working closely with their Chinese counterparts to work out the technicalities to allow trade to resume as soon as possible.