Customs authorities of China suspended meat imports of two Argentine refrigeratorsto a extent that also affects exporters of Brazil, Uruguay and Mongolia. The decision responds to a context of record imports in 2024which generated an surplus of offer and pressed downward prices in the Chinese market.
According to an official statement, the customs agency suspended the import declaration of Las Heras Sa y Frio Dock Sa regional refrigeratortogether with three Brazilian companies (Frisa Frigorífico twelve S/A, Bon-Mart Frigorífico Ltda and JBS s/a), Frigorific Sirsil SA de Uruguay and a Mongolian provider. While the exact reasons for the measure were not specified, The background is linked to Beijing’s strategy to balance its meat market.
Although China’s administration of Customs did not give any official reason for the suspensions the general regional refrigerator Las Heras SA had breached a 70 container shipment towards that country, in November last year. This breach would be one of the reasons for the suspension.
China is the largest importer and world consumer of vaccine meat and, according to official data, in 2024 it reached a record of 2.87 million metric tons in imports.
However, the strong purchase volume generated a oversized that collapsed internal prices to historical minimums, which led the authorities to evaluate restrictions on foreign trade.
In this framework, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce initiated an investigation into the increase in imports at the end of last year.
Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay are among the largest vaccine meat suppliers in China. In 2024, China imported a record of 2.87 million tons of this product, as the customs data showed.
In detail the export of Argentine vaccine meat, with around 760,000 tons product weight, grew by 13.5% in 2024 with respect to the previous year. This was reflected in the entrance of currencies that reached the US $ 2975 million, still far from the US $ 3450 million of 2022, according to industry data.
The meat sector closely follows the progress of the process, since the result of the investigation, planned by the end of 2024, It could lead to new regulations that impact the main suppliers of the Asian country, including Argentina, Brazil, Australia and the United States.
Source: Ambito
