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China has announced the initiation of a safeguarding investigation into imported beef products, aiming to assess the impact of an increase in imports on the country’s domestic beef industry.

The investigation was initiated by China’s Ministry of Commerce on 27 December. Xinhua, China’s official state news agency, said the Ministry launched the probe in response to an application submitted by the China Animal Agriculture Association, and nine industry associations from major beef-producing regions, on behalf of the domestic beef industry.

According to the application, imported beef increased by 106% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2019, which it claims has ‘significantly damaged’ China’s domestic industry.

Quoting a spokesperson for the Ministry, Xinhua reported that the investigation, which follows legal procedures and World Trade Organization rules, aims to protect the “legitimate rights and interests of domestic industries,” and “does not target any specific countries or regions, or differentiate products based on origin”.

The spokesperson confirmed that normal trade will not be affected during the investigation period, which is expected to conclude within eight months, though could be extended ‘under special circumstances’. The probe will examine bovine meat imported from 1 Jan 2019 to 30 June 2024.

Brazil, the largest supplier of beef exports to China, totalled over one million tons of bovine meat exports to the country in 2024, according to a statement from the Brazilian government.

The statement, responding to the Chinese Ministry’s investigation, affirmed the Brazilian government’s “commitment to defending the interests of Brazilian agribusiness, respecting the sovereign decisions of our main trade partner and continuously seeking constructive dialogue as a means to find mutually beneficial solutions".

It stated: “During the coming months and following the course and legal timeline of the investigation, the Brazilian government will seek to demonstrate, together with the exporting sector, that Brazilian bovine meat exported to China does not generate any type of harm to the Chinese industry; on the contrary, it represents an important complementarity factor to local Chinese production”.

Meat giant JBS, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, announced a BRL 150m (approx. $284 million) investment to double beef capacity at its Campo Grand II plant in Brazil’s state of Mato Grosso do Sul, in April 2024.

The facility was one of 38 authorised for exports to China by the Chinese government in March last year, with JBS’ investment announcement made during an event marking the facility’s first shipment of beef to China.

The investment, which JBS said would enable the plant’s daily processing volume to double from 2,200 to 4,400 animals within a year, aimed to meet ‘rising global demand for Brazilian beef exports, particularly in China and other markets’.

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