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This is the first shipment since the recent lifting of the Chinese embargo that has been in force since 2018. China halted imports of Belgian pork in September 2018 due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) in Belgium. Although Belgium was officially declared disease-free in 2020, the import ban remained in place. After years of intensive cooperation between the food safety agency FAVV and the Belgian and Chinese authorities, China suspended the embargo last month.
The pig parts for China are subject to additional quality requirements. “For example, the Chinese demand that the meat comes from pigs born and raised in Belgium, and the treatment of Belgian export products must also take place in a separate room or at a separate time,” says Joris Coenen of the Belgian Meat Office, part of the Flemish Center for Agro- and Fisheries Marketing (VLAM).
The export of these parts of the animal means both additional turnover and additional employment in the slaughterhouse. Westvlees in Westrozebeke will pay an extra surcharge to pig farmers with pigs that are suitable for export to China.
February 6, 2024/ Vilt/ Belgium.
https://vilt.be/nl
