China's General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced in a joint statement on Thursday the lifting of restrictions on American poultry imports, following years of being banned from entering the country.
According to Xinhua, officials from both organizations revealed that the United States' poultry industry has developed into the world's top poultry sector, paving the way for the ban to be lifted.
The first official consultations between China and the U.S. regarding the poultry import issue were carried out in May last year. Chinese experts carried out a comprehensive assessment of American poultry processes, with the end result indicating that the U.S. was able to successfully control previous outbreaks.
Before this week's ban lift, China had to block poultry imports from the U.S. back around four years ago, when the world's largest economy experienced avian influenza outbreaks in several regions across the country.
After the outbreaks, the U.S. government took the necessary steps to contain the virus and prevent influenza from spreading further. The last case reported was in March 2017 and since then, no new cases were confirmed.
Four months after the last case was reported, the White House forwarded an official end-of-event report to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Before then, the U.S. invited Chinese poultry experts to review the country's influenza control systems.
Aljazeera reported that since news of the developments emerged, U.S. poultry stocks soared. Pilgrims' Pride Corp edged up 2.2 percent, Sanderson Farms advanced by 4.2 percent, and Tyson Foods gained 4.6 percent on Thursday morning's trading.
Industry experts noted that the lifting of restrictions on U.S. poultry imports came at the right time as China's demand for protein has been increasing over the past few months. The demand hike was propelled by the African swine fever that killed millions of pigs in the country.
Before the U.S. poultry import ban was lifted, China already lifted restrictions on chicken and eggs imported from Slovakia and Spain. However, many industry analysts believe the move will also prove China's goodwill in the resolution of the trade war.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer noted that with the lift approved, the U.S. is expecting to export over one billion dollars in poultry products yearly to China.
President of the U.S.A Poultry & Egg Export Council, Jim Sumner, predicted that Chinese buyers will most likely purchase all sorts of poultry products, Reuters reported. He said turkey and duck meat could also be a high-selling product in the country.
American poultry farmers also expressed optimism over the ban's lift. Chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride said the revival of poultry trade to China will "present significant opportunities for growth" in the world's second-largest economy.
