US: More than 300 pork plants regain access to China
The pork plants eligibility to export to China expired at the end of February or was scheduled to expire on March 16, with little indication as to whether China would reinstate them. However, on March 17, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) announced that all pork plants applying for renewal had received Chinese approval for another five years.
"American pork producers now maintain access and have greater certainty to export their products to the Chinese market, with a population of 1.4 billion", said Bryan Humphreys, executive director of NPPC. "NPPC’s leadership and focus on market access for American pork are paying off, and we won’t stop there".
As the world's largest meat market, China remains an important destination for US pork products, especially offal, which generates higher value in China than in other markets. In 2024, more than 367,000 tons of US pork were exported to China, with a value exceeding $1.1 billion. Approximately 55% of US pork exports, including offal, were sent to China.
In recent months, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative have worked with China's General Administration of Customs to renew the registration of U.S. pork and beef facilities that were about to expire or had recently expired.
As pork producers celebrate a victory, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) noted that U.S. beef facilities have yet to be notified of registration renewals for licenses that expired on March 16.
"We expect similar news soon in the beef sector, but for now, the 390 U.S. beef facilities that expired on March 16 have not yet been renewed", said Joe Schuele, a USMEF spokesperson. "At this time, we have informed exporters that beef produced before March 16 must clear customs, provided the importers obtained import quarantine permits before March 16".
USMEF estimated that the beef industry could experience a $4.13 billion impact for the full year if access to China is lost.
"The estimate, not only takes into account the loss of direct exports to China, but also the impact of higher prices for U.S. beef cuts in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan when exporters also have access to China and Chinese buyers are active in the market", Schuele explained.
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