China will finally allow U.S. beef producers to import their product into the Asian nation for the first time in over a decade.
The country has lifted a 13-year ban on U.S. beef that has existed since China moved to cut certain ties with the Western world. However, the country has been moving back towards normalizing its relationship with the rest of the world, bringing American beef to its stores soon.
The ban was first instituted in 2003, only a year after U.S. beef comprised 70% of all beef in China. Now, the country says it will bring back American products to its fold, but it is unclear how soon this will happen.
The two nations have had conversations on and off regarding the possibility of bringing U.S. beef back to China, with little movement until now. The ban was originally instituted over the fear of encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease.
The Asian country makes up about 13% of the world’s beef industry, with 825,000 metric tons of the product being imported in 2016. This figure marks a 24% increase compared to its total amount of beef imported in 2015.
Bringing U.S. beef back to Chinese soil will likely come at a cost for Australia, which has been a major importer of the food product in recent years.
U.S. production of pork in China has caused its prices to fall due to demand in Asia.
