News

U.S. beef export opportunities to China not yet known

US Meat Export Federation Asia Director Joel Haggard says U.S. beef export opportunities to China are hard to determine until more is known.

In a news conference prior to the federation’s spring meeting in Arlington, Virginia, Haggard told reporters not knowing protocols China will require of U.S. ranchers and exporters leaves a lot of questions.

“It’s very difficult to kind of gauge the export opportunity there,” Haggard told reporters Tuesday.

China has told the Trump administration it’s willing to resume importing U.S. beef after a 13-year ban following the 2003 discovery of a single case of BSE in Washington State.

Haggard says key issues will revolve around price and what parts of the beef carcass China consumers want.

“What range of cuts can a buyer take in China?  The more he can take, the better,” Haggard said.  “I think it’s pretty clear that we’re going to have a special China beef program that runs through our industry.”

Haggard says he’s confident that Chinese meat importers – many of whom import U.S. pork – will have strong demand for U.S. beef.

AUDIO: Joel Haggard (7 min. MP3)