Germany has successfully negotiated the lifting of China’s ban on its beef products after discussions between Berlin and Beijing. This significant decision was made during a meeting between Yu Jianhua, China’s General Administration of Customs Minister, and Cem Özdemir, Germany’s Minister of Food and Agriculture, in Beijing last week.
Since 2000, China had prohibited the export of all beef from the EU due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or ‘mad cow’ disease. However, China is gradually easing these restrictions, as evidenced by the recent lift on the ban of Spanish beef exports earlier this year.
Özdemir expressed his satisfaction with the development, stating, “After many years of negotiations, a joint declaration was signed to lift the ban on German beef exports due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).” He emphasized that Germany has implemented comprehensive measures against BSE and has been BSE-free for an extended period. Consequently, the door is now open for German beef exports to China.
Furthermore, negotiations are underway between the two countries regarding Germany’s pork exports to China, specifically from areas unaffected by African swine fever. In 2020, German pork was banned in China following a report of a case in a dead wild boar near the Poland-Germany border. South Korea also implemented a similar ban on German pork imports around the same time, with Seoul lifting the restrictions in May of the following year.
These trade restrictions have had a ripple effect on pork processors in Germany, leading to challenges in production and, in some cases, reductions in workforce. For instance, Danish Crown had to cut 100 jobs at a German slaughterhouse in 2021 due to declining exports outside of the EU.
In addition to lifting beef export restrictions, both countries have agreed on new phytosanitary requirements to facilitate German apple exports to China for the first time. Following this agreement, Chinese experts are expected to conduct a technical visit to German apple farms to assess and mitigate the risk of transferring quarantine pests through apple exports to China. Once the assessment is complete, Germany can proceed with planning its apple exports to China.
Transitioning to the future, these developments mark a positive step in strengthening trade relations between Germany and China in the food and beverage industry. Through mutual agreements and regulatory adjustments, both countries are poised to tap into new opportunities for market growth and expansion in the global food trade landscape.
