US meat giant Tyson Foods has received approval from US and Chinese authorities to export American poultry to China from all 36 of its domestic processing plants.
Tyson said it expects to begin taking orders early next year but told just-food it is unlikely it will be shipping chicken to China from all of its US plants.
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China, reeling from the impact African swine fever is having on domestic pork production and seeking to counteract a meat shortage which has seen prices rise, last month lifted a nearly five-year ban on poultry imports.
The US Trade Representative last month projected more than US$1bn in annual poultry shipments to China.
News agency Reuters reported Tyson is working to win US approval by the end of the year for labels on poultry exported to China, the final hurdle before it can start shipping its produce.
A Tyson spokesperson told just-food: “We are not shipping to China from any US Tyson facilities presently.
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By GlobalData“Tyson Foods received approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to export poultry to China from 36 plants and expects to begin taking orders early next year.
“However, we are still awaiting approval for labels on poultry exported to China. We received our first label approval last week. Tyson will probably not ship poultry to China from all its plants.”
Earlier this month, Tyson signed an agreement to build a new beef-processing plant in Kazakhstan.
When the Kazakhstan plan was first reported in May, commentators suggested the facility would be targeted at nearby China rather than Kazakhstan itself.
