DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5

South Africa Resumes Beef Exports To China After Foot And Mouth Outbreak

By Dayeeta Das
Share this article
South Africa Resumes Beef Exports To China After Foot And Mouth Outbreak

South Africa has resumed beef exports to China after an outbreak of the highly contagious foot and mouth disease (FMD) in January halted trade, officials said on Tuesday.

The ban on exports of products from cloven hoofed animals to China was officially lifted on 23 July, ambassador Lin Songtian of China said during a briefing.

The viral disease, which causes lesions and lameness in cattle and sheep, was detected in a northern district of Limpopo province, resulting in the World Organisation for Animal Health temporarily suspending South Africa's FMD-free status.

'Safe To Resume Export'

"We went to the abattoirs and sent a message back home that it was safe to resume export," said the ambassador.

In March, countries including Mozambique, Lesotho, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates lifted the ban on exports from South Africa.

ADVERTISEMENT

FMD does not affect people but poses a threat to cloven-hoofed animals - such as cattle, goats and sheep.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.