Government and industry leaders in Belgium have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with their Chinese counterparts to promote the export of Belgian pork to China.
Although two Belgian companies are already cleared to export to China, and have been since 2009, the new understanding is expected to increase the number of approved export plants.
The new MoU was signed by Belgium’s agriculture minister Willy Borsus and the managing director of the country’ s federal agency for the safety of the food chain (FASFC), Diricks Herman, whose joint backing for Belgium’s pig industry has “helped win the confidence” of the certification and accreditation administration of the people’s republic of China (CNCA).
“Thanks to an advanced IT system, the Chinese authorities can now see in real time the results of the microbiological and residues of Belgian companies,” said FEBEV, the Belgian Meat Federation.
“Graphs are generated individually for each company to provide more guidance on their profile. CNCA can therefore see immediately whether a particular company meets Chinese standards.”
CNCA officials are scheduled to visit Belgium in the autumn for a series of inspection visits with the expectation of clearing the way for further companies to begin exporting to China.
