Source:
https://scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3089995/coronavirus-china-suspends-poultry-imports-tyson-foods-plant China Economy
Coronavirus: China suspends poultry imports from Tyson Foods plant after workers test positive
- All shipments that have arrived or are en route will be temporarily detained, customs agency says
- Reuters says affected factory is in Springdale, Arizona
Tyson Foods workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at the company’s Camilla, Ga., poultry processing plant. Photo: Tyson Foods via AP
China has suspended poultry imports from a plant owned by American meat giant Tyson Foods Inc after a coronavirus outbreak was reported there.
The General Administration of Customs said on Sunday it took the decision after “a cluster of coronavirus infections were confirmed among workers” at the factory, code-named P5842.
All shipments from the plant, including those that had recently arrived at Chinese ports or were about to, would be temporarily detained, it said.
Tyson Foods has not yet confirmed the action or revealed the volumes affected.
According to a Reuters report, which cited a customs department file of registered exporters, the affected plant is in Springdale, Arizona.
Tyson said earlier this month it had conducted Covid-19 testing of its workers in northwest Arkansas and found 481 of them, or 13 per cent, to be positive.
The latest incident showcases the risks of disruption to normal trade flows amid the coronavirus pandemic. It also highlights the difficulties in implementing the phase one trade deal signed by the US and China in January, under which Beijing agreed to buy an extra US$200 billion worth of American goods and services.
Tyson received approval from Chinese authorities in December to export poultry to China from all 36 of its processing plants in the US.
Poultry has been a politically sensitive issue between the two economic powers. In 2010, Beijing imposed anti-dumping tariffs on American poultry products – sparking a years-long dispute – and in 2015 banned all US poultry imports after America was hit by an outbreak of avian flu.
That ban was only lifted in November last year, when 172 US poultry firms were given the green light to start selling again to China, followed by a second batch of 177 a month later.
Tyson said 13 per cent of its workers in northwest Arkansas tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: AP
Evidence of China’s efforts to boost purchases of US agricultural goods can be seen by the addition of 447 American pork producers, 438 beef producers and 58 poultry firms to the customs agency’s import catalogue in March.
But since the new coronavirus outbreak at the Xinfadi wholesale food market in Beijing – 227 cases had been confirmed as of Sunday – the country has been on high alert to the risk of food contamination.
China’s customs agency on Wednesday banned all imported pork from a German company after most of its workers tested positive for Covid-19.