China launches investigation into beef imports

AFP, Beijing :

China’s commerce ministry on Fridaylaunched an investigation into imported beef at the request of representatives from its struggling domestic industry, it said.
The local price of beef in China has trended downwards in recent years, with analysts blaming oversupply and a lack of demand as the world’s second largest economy has slowed.
At the same time imports have surged, with China representing a hugely important market for countries like Brazil, Argentina and Australia.
The application for an investigation from domestic associations said that asharp increase in beef imports in recent years “has had a significant adverseimpact on the domestic industry”, the commerce ministry said in a statement.
Beef imports in 2023 were 65 percent higher than in 2019, it quoted theproducers as saying.
The investigation takes effect from Friday and should take eight months, but”may be extended appropriately under special circumstances”, the announcement said.
Normal trade will not be affected during the investigation period.
Brazil, the world’s biggest beef exporter, said it “will seek to demonstrate that Brazilian beef exported to China does not cause any type of harm to the Chinese industry, and is, on the contrary, an important factor in complementing local Chinese production.”