Hong Kong Reopens to U.S. Beef

Hong Kong Reopens to U.S. Beef. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture.

The United States and Hong Kong have agreed on new terms and conditions that pave the way for expanded exports of U.S. beef and beef products to Hong Kong. The announcement was made by Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack yesterday while on his trade mission to Brussels. The Ag Network's Lacy Gray has more.

GRAY: Under the new terms, Hong Kong will permit the import of the full range of U.S. beef and beef products, consistent with access prior to December 2003. The new terms become effective yesterday, June17, 2014. Previously, only deboned beef from all cattle and certain bone-in beef from cattle less than 30 months of age could be shipped from the United States to Hong Kong. Vilsack said that Hong Kong is already the fourth largest market for U.S. beef and beef product exports, with sales there reaching a historic high of $823 million in 2013. A move by the World Organization for Animal Health granting the U.S. negligible risk status for BSE seemed to set the stage for the decision.

Thanks Lacy. In December 2003, Hong Kong banned U.S. beef and beef products following the detection of a BSE-positive animal in the United States (one of only four cases ever discovered in America). In December 2005, Hong Kong partially reopened its market to allow imports of deboned U.S. beef from cattle aged 30 months or younger produced under a special program for Hong Kong and expanded access to include certain bone-in cuts from cattle less than 30 months of age in February 2013.

That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.