China and Australia Reach Agreement on Alive Cattle Imports

Some analysts said the latest deal would help China ease beef shortages.

On July 20, Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said Australia already reached an agreement to export alive cattle to China.

"In the past five years, we had very good cooperation with China on cattle trade, but mainly for daily dairy products. Now, I am pleased to announce that the trade between us is closer, and we will begin to export live cattle to China. "Joyce represents to the local media.

Barnaby Joyce said the agreement would help the Australian beef farmers open a huge demand potential of the Chinese market, each year it would bring the Australian economy with the value of 1 to 2 billion Australian dollars. He also said that in 8-10 years, China's annual imports of live cattle from Australia was expected to reach one million.

The two countries last year reached a consensus in principle on live cattle export trade, but because of China's concerns about the potential risk of bluetongue virus, the trade process was stalled.

"If China allows a huge number of live cattle trades, it will have a number of effects on the market." The senior analyst at the Dutch cooperative bank Pan Chenjun believes that "China can take advantage of the various parts of live cattle, and can not just focus on the local market, it can consider exporting to other countries, like Japan, in which the steak price is higher than China’s. " (www.chinainout.com)