China Probes Beef Imports Amid Farmer Struggles
China is starting a probe into beef imports to decide if a surge in shipments from overseas has hurt the domestic industry, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday.
The investigation, launched at the request of domestic industry associations, is likely to end within eight months, but may be extended under special circumstances, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
Any safeguard measures taken by the world’s biggest beef buyer may hurt top exporters, such as Brazil, Argentina and Australia. Shares of Brazil’s biggest meat packers, including JBS SA, Marfrig Global Foods SA and Minerva SA, fell on the news.
Imports surged between 2019 and mid-2024, dealing a blow to the domestic industry, groups representing the animal husbandry sector from several top producing regions said in their petitions. China’s beef producers are struggling with huge losses after local prices plunged to multi-year year lows due to oversupply and sluggish consumption.
Brazil imposed new tariffs on various products from China and other Asian nations in October, including a duty increase on fibre optics and cables, and iron and steel products.
JBS shares fell as much as 2.9% in Sao Paulo, as Marfrig tumbled 7.5% and Minerva 3.1%. China is the biggest market for Brazilian and Argentine beef, the fourth-largest for the US.
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