China Was Good to U.S. Ag, But Time Will Tell
From the Publisher Dennis Sun
During the recent summit between China and the U.S., China agreed to buy $17 billion in ag products per year from 2026-28, in addition to the soybean purchase commitments they made in October 2025.
In a fact sheet, White House officials said, “President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed the U.S. and China should build a constructive relationship of strategic stability on the basis of fairness and reciprocity.”
Some time ago, China did not renew the permits for U.S. beef processors to export beef to China.
In the past, the Chinese had U.S. beef available to them and demand was high. Some had learned to grill beef outdoors, and it was catching on fast.
Some of the best news coming out of the summit is China’s General Administration of Customs granted a five-year registration extension to 425 U.S. beef processors. They also approved 77 new permits for five years. There are some U.S. beef processors waiting for registrations, and the White House fact sheet noted China will work with U.S. regulators to lift all suspensions of U.S. beef facilities.
China has taken the first step in allowing U.S. beef into their country, but the question is when will they start ordering our beef?
The last time President Trump met with the Chinese ruler, they agreed to buy a certain amount of soybean bushels. They didn’t buy near what they were supposed to. Instead, they went to Brazil and other South American countries where they are trying to gain a foothold. China can change its mind very easily.
In 2020, China was supposed to review and automatically relist all beef and pork plants every five years, according to the signed agreement. They did so with pork, but not with beef, which caused a drop in U.S. beef exports.
China’s main demand for beef is going to be variety meats and underutilized cuts, not steaks and roasts, which is good for the industry as it will add an additional $165 to the value of each animal for beef producers and no increased cost to consumers.
In the past, when China was importing U.S. beef, they were one of the top three purchasers of cuts like tripe, tendons and tongues. These variety meats are not favored in the U.S., except by ethnic groups. China was also the number one purchaser of cow hides.
Around 2013, China’s beef consumption started to exceed their domestic beef production. With their huge population numbers, China really had to look at importing beef.
Hong Kong, with its millions of upper middle class people, was always an importer of U.S. beef. Sixteen years ago, Hong Kong imported around 16 percent of all U.S. beef exports.
Some American consumers are complaining about exporting domestic beef when it is so pricey at the grocery stores here in the U.S.
While some exported beef will include Americans
favored cuts, most will be variety meats. These record beef prices won’t last forever, and having China import American beef, will certainly help beef producers.
