Chinese eager for US beef imports

Chinese meat importers are racing to get their hands on the first shipments of beef from the US in 14 years, as strong demand for premium steaks continues to grow in the $2.6bn beef import market.

Chinese meat importers are racing to get their hands on the first shipments of beef from the US in 14 years, as strong demand for premium steaks continues to grow in the $2.6bn beef import market.

Last week Beijing and Washington settled the conditions for US beef exports after they agreed in May to resume the trade. Pent-up demand for US meat could erode sales of beef from Australia, which is China’s top supplier of premium steaks.

“We have ordered 56 to 58 tonnes of whole carcasses, which are expected to arrive by the end of July,” said Chen Fugang, the owner of Aoyang International, a Shanghai-based trading company.

Chen expected the product to be a hit in China, where total beef sales grew 4% in 2016 to reach 5.9-million tonnes, according to Euromonitor.

Beef from the US is known for its quality but China banned it in 2003 after a mad cow disease scare. Since then, other beef imports have surged, as domestic production has struggled to keep up with demand from the expanding middle class.

Total beef arrivals rose 22% to 579,836 tonnes in 2016 and foreign suppliers will meet about 20% of demand by 2020, forecasts Rabobank.

“Inquiries to our exporters number in the hundreds, if not low thousands, since the announcement of the agreement,” said Joel Haggard of the US Meat Export Federation in Asia-Pacific.

Increased competition for the lucrative premium market will stir concerns in Australia, where a drought has cut the herd size.

Similar quality cuts of US beef are expected to be cheaper than Australian meat because of low US grain prices, a large component of the cost of raising cattle.