China lifts Australian processor suspensions

The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) has welcomed China’s reinstatement of export approvals for three Australian meat export processors that were suspended due to COVID-19 detections during the pandemic.

AMIC, which represents the post-farm gate meat industry, said it had advocated for this breakthrough with government and industry partners in China.

“We are glad to see movement and action on some of the outstanding issues that will allow the affected plants re-enter the market,” AMIC Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Hutchinson, said.

AMIC hoped this move represented the first step in addressing the remaining access issues for Australian meat processors, as a number of meat plants remain suspended despite significant corrective actions and steps taken to assure compliance with Chinese requirements.

“We will continue to advocate strongly for all remaining suspended plants to also regain access to China as a matter of priority,” Mr Hutchinson said.

“We hope this represents a restablisation of the trade in meat to China, which will also allow for a process and pathway for new access to the market.

“There are Australian export meat processors that have been seeking to gain access to China for a number of years, and we hope that this development paves the way for them to soon be able to supply Chinese consumers with Australia’s top quality, safe meat and meat products.”