News

Red meat exports to China hindered by retaliatory tariffs

The US Meat Export Federation’s vice president of economic analysis says China’s retaliatory tariffs have halted red meat exports to the country. Erin Borror says the disruption could be costly for U.S. beef and pork producers. “On the beef side, without that China bid, we’re looking at $150 to $165 per head industry loss,” she says.  “On the pork side, we estimate the losses of about $8 to $10 per head.”  She says those losses would total about $4 billion per year for beef and more than $1 billion for pork.

Borror says the country has been a significant buyer of pork variety meats, and exporters have been forced to find a new market for the products that would typically be sold to China.  But that has been a challenge. “For China, we have special China labeling,” she says. “It’s a ractopamine-free product with a China label both on the bag and the box. It’s a costly production specific for China.”

Despite reports that a de-escalation of trade tensions between the U.S. and China is underway, neither country has adjusted its tariff rates.  China’s duty rate on U.S. pork and pork products is at 172% and U.S. beef and beef variety meats are at 147%.

Exports of U.S. beef face an additional challenge as China has failed to renew registrations for 400 U.S. beef facilities, making the bulk of U.S. beef production currently ineligible for China.  China renewed registrations for most U.S. pork facilities in March, but the country has yet to renew registrations for nine plants that expired in April.