Inside Pigs
Canadian pork allowed back to China
After 4 months, China lifted the ban on pork from Canada. This is especially good news for exporters from the country, as China was the main destination for Canadian pork in the first half of the year.
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China has lifted the ban on Canadian pork, the countries reported on Monday, November 25. The ban was imposed about 4 months ago due to political tensions between China and Canada. China then claimed that the meat from Canada contained traces of ractopamine. The situation now appears to have improved, although it is not (yet) clear how quickly and whether trade will return to its previous level at all.
Important destination
The fact that China is an important export destination for pork from Canada is evident from the export figures. In the first half of 2019, the country was Canada's most important export destination, accounting for 171.000 tonnes of fresh/frozen pork. Also is Canada the third largest exporter of pork to China, after Spain and Germany. According to several analysts, the outbreaks of African swine fever in China could cause Canadian exports to grow significantly now that market access has been restored.
In the third quarter of 2019, Canadian fresh/frozen pork exports decreased by 33.000 tonnes compared to the previous quarter. There is also a visible decrease compared to the third quarter of last year (-11.000 tons). The total pork export from Canada therefore amounts to 213.000 tonnes. However, the country remains a major net exporter of pork products. During the period when exports could not be made to China, exports were mainly made to Mexico, the Philippines and Taiwan.