September 15, 2006
Hong Kong to import more US beef for winter
As winter approaches, Hong Kong's importers have started placing orders for US beef, prompting forecasts US beef imports to the territory would be rising swiftly, the USDA said.
US beef has not yet recaptured the pre-ban market share in Hong Kong
US beef imports to Hong Kong, whose ban on US beef was lifted in December 2005, are still a long way from recovery: imports during the first six months of the year was at US$5 million, compared to US$26 million during the same period in 2003, before the ban.
US beef, which once accounted for up to a fifth of the Hong Kong beef market, now only accounts for 1.5 percent.
Hong Kong banned three US beef plants after detecting bone fragments in shipments earlier this year, leaving 15 US plants to supply the territory currently.