Reading Time: 2 minutes Wuzhen, China | Reuters — China’s 2019 pork imports are set to double from last year to two million tonnes, a Rabobank analyst said on Thursday, as African swine fever hits production of the meat in the world’s top hog market. China has reported 113 outbreaks of the contagious disease since last August, though farmers […] Read more
China’s pork imports seen doubling in 2019 on swine fever impact
China moves to halt swine fever with hog industry overhaul
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China plans to divide its hog industry into five zones in an attempt to halt the spread of African swine fever across the world’s top pork producer and guarantee supplies. Beijing has reported more than 100 outbreaks of the disease, which is fatal to pigs but not harmful to people, in […] Read more
Canadian canola runs into Chinese delays after Huawei arrest
Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg/Beijing | Reuters — A political dispute between China and Canada over the arrest of a Huawei executive is slowing canola shipments through Chinese ports and causing some importers to hesitate to buy from their biggest supplier, according to interviews with a dozen traders. Since Canadian authorities arrested Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in […] Read more
Hog industry worldwide getting slaughtered in trade war
Reading Time: 5 minutes Beijing/Chicago/Carambei | Reuters – Ken Maschhoff, chairman of the largest U.S. family-owned pork producer, has watched profits fall as trade tensions rise between the United States and China. His company, The Machhoffs, has halted U.S. projects worth up to $30 million and may move some operations overseas. Investing in domestic operations now would be “ludicrous” […] Read more
China culls more pigs as authorities race to trace African swine fever source
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters – China is culling over 1,300 pigs as authorities rush to control a fourth outbreak of African swine fever and try to trace the origins of the virus that first struck the world’s largest hog herd three weeks ago. Authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang said they would slaughter 1,332 hogs […] Read more
China’s July grain imports plunge as tariffs on U.S. supplies bite
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters – China’s grain imports plunged in July after Beijing imposed hefty tariffs on shipments from the United States as part of its trade conflict and as rising international prices curbed buying, customs data showed on Thursday. China brought in 220,000 tonnes of sorghum in July, down 62.5 percent from 588,364 tonnes a year ago, data from […] Read more
China reports 1st African swine fever outbreak, culls 1,000 hogs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters – China reported its first outbreak of the deadly African swine fever (ASF) on Friday, as authorities in Liaoning province in the country’s northeast culled almost 1,000 hogs and rushed to control the highly contagious disease. News of the infection will stoke concern about its spread in the world’s largest pig herd, and possibly […] Read more
China signals to state giants: ‘Buy American’ oil and grains
Reading Time: 3 minutes Singapore/Beijing | Reuters –– China will import record volumes of U.S. oil and is likely to ship more U.S. soy after Beijing signalled to state-run refiners and grains purchasers they should buy more to help ease tensions between the two top economies, trade sources said on Wednesday. China pledged at the weekend to increase imports […] Read more
China retreats from U.S. sorghum probe amid global market havoc
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China dropped its anti-dumping probe into imports of U.S. sorghum on Friday, beating a hasty retreat from a dispute that wreaked chaos across the global grain market and raised concerns about rising costs and financial damage at home. The move was seen as a goodwill concession as Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He […] Read more
China approves two new GMO varieties for import, renews 14
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China approved two new varieties of genetically modified (GMO) crops for import from Monday, after the world’s top buyer of GMO soybeans pledged to speed up a review of biotech products as part of a recent trade deal with the U.S. The approvals of new GMO imports follow an agreement on […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
