China ready to accept Brazilian pork

China ready to accept Brazilian pork Chinese officials have agreed on a draft veterinary protocol with Brazil for the export of pork to China, the U.S. Meat Export Federation said in a statement Tuesday.
   Details of the pact are not yet available, but USMEF said the agreement was announced during the High Level Food Safety Forum in Beijing last week.
   “The Brazilians have been looking to gain official access to China for years,' said USMEF Senior North China Representative Donald Song, who attended the forum in Beijing.
   Under normal supply protocols with meat and poultry supplying countries, China reaches agreement on general terms of the supply of meat and poultry, on a species basis, and then dispatches certification teams to inspect and approve facilities on a plant-by-plant basis. China, however, recognizes all USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service approved U.S. pork facilities as having export eligibility to the country.
   Direct Brazilian exports of poultry and beef to China show a declining trend, yet trade with Hong Kong has been rising sharply. After Russia, Hong Kong has been the largest buyer of Brazilian pork in recent years, accounting for an 18 percent share of exports in the first 10 months of this year.
   'Achieving direct export eligibility to China would constitute a big victory for Brazilian pork exporters,' USMEF said. 'Chinese pork prices have surged this year, and USMEF believes that many Chinese processors consider Brazil’s competitive pork prices to be a good fit for the country’s raw material needs. Demand for pork by all sectors and pressure to have multiple supply lines are believed to be some of the reasons why China has finally moved on Brazil’s longstanding request to approve pork imports. China only reports imports from the United States, Canada and a few European Union countries, primarily France, Denmark, Germany and Ireland. Through October, China's pork imports increased 120 percent to 383,189 (metric tons).'