July 16, 2007

 

US meat exporters worry on China's meat embargo

 

 

US pork and poultry exporters have expressed fears over China's decision to bar US meat as a large percentage of American meat traders rely on the Asian market, an industry group said Sunday (July 15). 

 

The suspension of China's quarantine bureau on pork and poultry from some US plants over the discovery of salmonella-contaminated chicken and other products with growth agents or other additives have added another dent on the two countries' troubling trade deals.

 

Companies affected by the latest trade flap include some of the giants of American agriculture, including a unit of the private Cargill Inc., and Tyson Foods, the leading US producer of fresh beef and No. 2 producer of chicken and pork.

 

Thad Lively, a trade analyst at the US Meat Export Federation in Denver, Colorado said China is an important market for "variety meats" that have been shunned by consumers in the United States such as chicken feet and pig ears. He said losing access to this market would be very "damaging to the overall profitability of the US pork industry".

 

He chalked the recent problems up to "excessively restrictive" import rules that are not based on science, stating that China's decision will have the country "live with high domestic prices" and at the same time "run the risk of opening new trade dispute".

 

Cargill spokesman Mark Klein said the feed additive in question, ractopamine, is commonly used by the US pork industry and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

 

Klein said that developments are already underway for China to approve the use of the additive.

 

China had already blocked imports from several US pork plants and put two others on probation, according to the trade players.

 

The US meat industry woes have been in the limelight since the outbreak of mad cow disease in 2003 which doomed American cattle traders.

 

The Bush administration is also pushing China to accept US beef shipments, following the meeting between Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and US president George Bush in May.