A Western blot analysis, used to detect specific proteins in tissue samples, is used to confirm BSE in cattle. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

China’s buyers expect Brazil’s beef back soon despite BSE cases

Beijing | Reuters — Chinese beef importers said Monday the suspension of exports by top supplier Brazil due to two cases of BSE has had no immediate market impact, with some still making purchases in anticipation of a quick resumption of trade. Brazil said on Saturday it had confirmed two cases of ‘atypical’ bovine spongiform […] Read more

File photo of a rooster being swabbed in testing for avian influenza. (Merrimon/iStock/Getty Images)

China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu

Strain 'not a very common virus'

Beijing | Reuters — A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3, Beijing’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday. Many different strains of bird flu are present in China and some sporadically infect […] Read more


File photo of piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

China’s 2020 pork output higher than expected

Reported slowing of ASF-induced decline beats expectations

Beijing | Reuters — China’s pork output posted significant signals toward recovery last year after the sector was decimated by an incurable hog disease in 2019, official data showed Monday. China’s 2020 pork output fell 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, to 41.13 million tonnes, after plunging 21 per cent in 2019, the National […] Read more




Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

China’s coronavirus testing chokes beef trade

Additional inspections, disinfections costly for importers

Beijing | Reuters — In a supermarket in downtown Beijing, refrigerator shelves normally filled with steak from around the world sit empty as tougher testing for the novel coronavirus creates supply bottlenecks and raises prices for importers. Fresh supplies of beef won’t arrive for days, a salesman at the Suning.com-owned Carrefour outlet told Reuters — […] Read more


An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

Irritated trade partners push back on China’s coronavirus food tests

Canada rips testing as 'unjustified trade restrictions'

Beijing/Geneva | Reuters — Major food-producing countries are growing increasingly frustrated with China’s scrutiny of imported products and are calling on it to stop aggressive testing for the coronavirus, which some say is tantamount to a trade restriction. China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries including German […] Read more

Piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

China targets pork self-sufficiency rate of 95 per cent

Imported beef increasing in market share

Beijing | Reuters — China is aiming to produce 95 per cent of its pork at home, according to a cabinet document outlining plans for its livestock sector, underscoring a goal to quickly rebuild its huge pig herd after a major disease epidemic. The document, released on Sunday, comes amid a heightened focus on food […] Read more


A customer shops at a pork meat hall at the Yuegezhuang wholesale market in Beijing on June 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

Food exporters to China asked to declare produce coronavirus-free

Declaration puts onus on exporters for product safety

Beijing | Reuters — China’s customs authority has asked food exporters to the country to sign a declaration their produce is not contaminated by the novel coronavirus, three people who received a letter said on Friday. The declaration, seen by Reuters, may be an effort by China to reduce the additional testing it has carried […] Read more

Barley south of Ethelton, Sask. on July 30, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

China hits Australia with barley tariff

Duty to last for five years; China may turn to Canada, other exporters

Beijing/Sydney | Reuters — China added to tensions with Australia on Monday by announcing anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties totalling 80.5 per cent on Australian barley imports from Tuesday (May 19), which is expected to all but halt a billion-dollar trade between them. China’s ministry of commerce said it had confirmed dumping by Australia and significant […] Read more