Until President Donald Trump, none of the previous administrations were able to reopen China’s marketplace to US beef since the infamous BSE scare, or “Cow That Stole Christmas” in Washington state. Trump managed to get the job done, though, in mid-2017. Still, even though the US has access, China has yet to buy much beef at all. While that may seem anticlimactic for a highly anticipated end to a trade ban that lasted more than a decade, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel says given time, China’s market could become one of our nation’s most important trading partners.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity obviously with the size that China is in terms of the population base,” he told Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays in a recent interview. “They’re big buyers of beef globally, just not buying much from the US at this point. My guess is it will still be a lengthy process. But we’re looking for slow and steady growth as we go forward.”
Peel reports that China appeared in 2017 as one of the US top 20 export destinations for beef. But take that with a grain of salt he says. Once you get passed the first five destinations on that list, the amount of exports being sold drop dramatically to very small amounts. This past year, Peel notes that China’s US beef imports had an 11-month total of less than one percent of total US exports. And, he predicts that will probably not change much in 2018. But over the long-term, perhaps in three to five years, he says the market potential is great.
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