The ban on Canadian pork exports to China has been lifted, paving the way for Canadian producers to benefit from the Chinese import boom.
China suspended pork and other meat imports from Canada in June after an investigation revealed that batches of Canadian pork were accompanied by at least 188 counterfeit health certification documents.
The Chinese Embassy in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, said the Chinese Customs authorities had found ractopamine residues in a batch of pork products exported from Canada.
The ban came into place at a time of high political tensions between the countries, but the relationship between the two nations now seems to be improving, according to AHDB trainee analyst Charlie Reeve.
iT is not yet clear how quickly, or even if trade will return to previous levels but Mr Reeve predicted Canada’s exports to China could 'grow significantly, now that market access has been restored'.
During the first half of 2019, China was Canada’s largest export destination accounting for 171,000 tonnes of fresh/frozen pork. Despite the temporary interruption in trade, China is still the largest export destination for Canadian pork exports based on the first 9 months of 2019, accounting for 25% of total fresh/frozen exports.
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