04/18/06 That Chinese agreement on U.S. beef

American Rancher April 18, 2006 It was announced last week that China had agreed to resume imports of U.S. beef which were halted of course back in 2003 with the discovery of a case BSE in the United States. What the Chinese actually agreed to was a process that will lead to the resumption of beef imports. So, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns was reluctant to put a date on when the first shipments of U.S. beef might be headed to China but did say; Johanns: "I think they are dealing with us in good faith and I am very optimistic that we can work out the protocols and the timeline and start shipping beef." The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said it was pleased by the progress U.S. and Chinese officials appear to be making and says it expects technical teams will immediately begin to meet to formalize the terms of trade based on standards outlined by the World Organization for Animal Health. China was the 7th largest export market for U.S. beef by value back in 2003 but NCBA president Mike John says China has tremendous potential for the future. John: "The population again is huge. Their economic growth is stable and continuing and that is all good news for access to beef markets because there will be a growing number of potential consumers in China that have a taste for U.S. beef and we are looking forward to providing it for them." In exchange for this commitment on beef by China, the U.S. agreed to begin the process that would allow processed Chinese poultry products to be sold in the United States. I'm Bob Hoff.