Pork additive keeps product out of China

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Published: November 29, 2007

China consumes a huge amount of pork, but it isn’t getting any of it from Canada.

Until China decides what to do about Paylean, hungry Chinese consumers aren’t likely to taste Canada’s premium pork.

“It’s unfortunate we have to deal with that, because otherwise the opportunities would have been significant,” said Jacques Pomerleau, executive director of Canada Pork International.

China, the world’s largest pork producer and consumer, isn’t producing enough pigs to feed its population. The result has been a huge increase, estimated at more than 50 percent, in the price of pork at Chinese grocery stores.

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But the Paylean issue means most Canadian and U.S. pork can’t be shipped to China.

It bans the import of any meat that contains even trace levels of ractopamine, the active ingredient in Paylean, and since it’s widely used in North America, food processors are afraid to ship product to China, even if they believe it is Paylean-free.

“If they find any, with their zero tolerance policy your plant is likely to be delisted,” said Pomerleau.

“Who knows when it will be relisted? Companies are not taking any chances.”

China requires foreign sellers to become accredited suppliers, so being taken off the list means the Chinese market is not just lost for any one shipment found tainted by Paylean, but also any in the future until the affected plant reacquires export certification.

China has a huge domestic food market, but it is hard to access for many reasons, from overstressed port facilities to archaic internal transportation.

But Canadian pork exporters are hopeful about the market potential in China.

So are American producers. Giant Smithfield Foods, the U.S.’s biggest hog producer, is shipping 60 million pounds of Paylean-free pork to China by the end of December, it announced earlier this year.

Ractopamine has been found safe by North American regulators and has been embraced by many producers as a way to speed lean muscle gain.

The ban is not due to any finding in China that the substance is dangerous, but is a temporary block put in place while Chinese authorities make up their own minds about its safety.

Canada’s pork exports have slumped this year. By the end of September they were down more than 4.5 percent from a year before.

Pomerleau said he hopes the Chinese will reopen their market to Canadian pork soon. Sales are being lost.

“The exports to China will fully resume when the ractopamine issue is resolved,” he said.

About the author

Ed White

Ed White

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