Horse exports to China to lift two industries

And they’re off. An agreement that paves the way for US horse exports to China to resume will benefit the equine industry in the US and the state of Kentucky and a rapidly growing racing industry on the mainland, observers said.

Unveiled earlier this month and signed by US Ambassador to China Terry Branstad and Minister Zhi Shuping of the People’s Republic of China, the pact will enable the US to export horses, including thoroughbreds, to China.

“China has become a large net importer for horses of all breeds, and for all disciplines. This protocol will enable Chinese and American breeders and end-users to generate a sustainable and competitive horse industry in China,” Julie Broadway, president of the American Horse Council, wrote in an email Wednesday.

In 2015 the Chinese Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine placed a hold on the importation of live horses from the US because of concerns about equine infectious anemia, a viral disease spread by blood-feeding insects and potentially fatal to members of the horse family.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, working with federal and state officials and industry groups, began to address concerns in China about equine infectious anemia. Earlier this year, Quarles hosted a Chinese delegation in Kentucky.

The resumption of US horse exports is expected to greatly benefit Quarles’ state which is home to Churchill Downs, site of the famed Kentucky Derby horse race every May. Kentucky is the leading American exporter of live horses, responsible for $195 million, or 65 percent, of the total US exports of live horses.

“This announcement has a huge benefit for the equine industry, which already represents nearly $200 million in exports for our state. It not only provides potential economic benefit to the equine industry, but Kentucky agriculture and her economy. Every horse needs to eat, and Kentucky farmers are well positioned to grow and supply the feed,” said Quarles in an email.

“A lot of people in (the) horse industry in Kentucky for many years have been going to China to try to open up the market, especially for the thoroughbred industry,” said Terri Burch, interim director of the equine program at the University of Louisville.

Presently there are multiple China-based owners of thoroughbred bloodstock on the racetrack and in the commercial breeding market, said Broadway.

“Many of these investors are active in racing horses both in China and the United States, and the added ingress of American horses, and their expected performance, will be an effective way of building more business to strengthen this trade relationship,” she added.

“Because of this agreement we know the door is open for Chinese investment. Our hope is that they will begin purchasing Kentucky horses by the end of the year,” said Quarles.