China Resumes Poultry Imports

On Thursday, China's customs said that effectively immediately, it was lifting the 2015 ban on U.S. poultry meat imports.

China had banned all U.S. poultry and eggs since January 2015 due to an avian influenza outbreak. Reopening the market to U.S. poultry meat comes as China faces an unprecedented shortage of domestic protein supplies as African swine fever (ASF) has inflicted.

Chinese chicken imports have surged this year, as the country has been importing cuts like breast meat that is normally in surplus.

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) is pleased with China’s decision to resume imports of U.S. poultry and poultry products.

China is a valuable market for the U.S. animal food industry –- for exports of feed, feed ingredients and value-added products such as meat and poultry.

随着中国恢复家禽和家禽成分的进口，我们将看到美国家禽业使用的更多饲料和饲料成分。

“Reopening this market for poultry products is also an important first step in expanding the Chinese market for U.S. pet food,” says Constance Cullman, AFIA’s president and CEO. “This ban was first put in place in 2015 when pet food was already subject to a Chinese restriction on ruminant ingredients. This left few options in the way of animal-origin ingredients in pet food destined for China. As a result, exports of U.S. pet food to China dropped from an already meager $8.3 million to $1.4 million within the first year.”