US beef sold at Sam’s in China as shipments resume

Sam’s Club, a membership store under US retail giant Wal- Mart Stores Inc, on Tuesday became the first physical store in China to sell beef from the US after shipments resumed for the first time since 2003.

Sam’s Club outlet in Beijing’s Shijingshan district started to sell the US beef on Tuesday afternoon, and there were free tasting samples, Wal- Mart ( China) Invetment Co told the Global Times via on Tuesday.

The cut of beef now being sold is short rib, a superior and tender part of the meat that is very popular among Asians. Leaving a ranch in the US state of Nebraska, the vacuum- packed beef arrived in China within 30 hours by air, the company said.

Priced at 178 yuan ($ 26.13) per jin ( 500 grams), the beef is subject to limited availability, it noted.

Wal- Mart said that its Sam’s Club had expected to sell the first batch of US beef during the middle of July, Beijing Business Today reported on Tuesday.

Chinese companies have been scrambling for US beef after the 14- year ban was lifted, the report said, noting that many online and physical stores have announced plans to sell the meat.

E- commerce brand womai. com under COFCO Corp obtained the exclusive online sales rights for a type of high rib beef from the US, and 1,423 packages were sold in three days, the report said.

Beef from the US was permitted in China on June 20, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in an announcement on the same day.

The beef imports are part of the China- US 100- day plan, which was agreed on by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump during a meeting in the US state of Florida in April.