Chinese pork imports topped 100,000 tonnes in March for the first time, which is good news for EU exporters, including the UK, says AHDB Pork.
Highlighting the six-figure total in a late-Friday tweet, AHDB Pork added the comment that there was “no end to the boom in sight”.
Also focusing on China this week was European farm commissioner, Phil Hogan (pictured above), who led a trade mission to the country accompanied by 60 agri-food business representatives from 15 EU member states.
“Every meeting is a small step on the journey to the larger goal of finding new markets for the EU agri-food sector and better prices for farmers,” said the commissioner.
“It is more important now than ever to deepen relationships in order to smooth the path for better export opportunities. During my meeting with the Chinese Agriculture Minister Han Changfu, I made it clear that we should deepen our cooperation where possible.
“Both Europe and China have a great opportunity to build upon the positive trade relations that already exist.”
Mr Hogan has now moved on to Japan, meeting government ministers and stakeholders and launching another European Restaurant Week, as he did in China.
“The EU enjoys a good trade relationship with Japan, exporting pork, wine, and cheese, among other goods,” he said, before embarking on his “small step/larger goal” message.