China reopened its borders to United States beef in 2017, but that historic decision sparked both challenges and opportunities for American beef producers, according to Ian Lahiffe, Lead of Operations, Allfex Livestock Intelligence.
Lahiffe said beef consumption has almost doubled in China over the past 10-15 years, but Chinese consumers are accustomed to grass-fed beef primarily from Brazil or Australia that costs 30 percent less than beef from the United States. He said U.S. beef producers will have to reintroduce Chinese consumers to grain-fed beef and carcass quality.