China ban threatens meat exports

Due to a crackdown by China on illegal meat imports India, which is one of the biggest exporters of buffalo meat, will have to look for new avenues. China has resorted t0 stringent border controls due to the African swine fever. Consequently, Indian buffalo meat exports to China that usually flow through Vietnam have just about stalled. Indian exporters are now counting on Indonesia to more than triple its meat imports to compensate for these losses. This black market meat trade is estimated at about US$ 2 billion a year. Due to a ban by Beijing since 2001 following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, India cannot export directly to China. Indian shipments of buffalo meat and offal to China via Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and Hong Kong, have dropped by 23% YoY to 14,645 containers this year to October, according to data by All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association.