China is cutting back on COVID-19 testing measures.
The country’s health authority says that local governments no longer have to test some imported goods, but they will still test chilled and frozen meat imports which China claims is how the virus entered the country in 2020. Exporters will not face import suspensions anymore when their goods test positive.
China says that the move will reduce the cost of its strict prevention measures. This comes as the country places the eastern region on lockdown over a single case.
Meantime, China is boosting its purchases of U.S. food and ag products. An economist with USDA shares what the latest data show for the last eight months of the fiscal year.
According to Bart Kenner, “Total agricultural exports to China for October through May 2022 were up 7 percent from the previous year at $28.3 billion dollars from $26.5 billion this time last year.”
Some exports though were way above the 7 percent:
- Cotton exports were up 41 percent
- Sorghum was up 18 percent
- Poultry was up 28 percent
- Red meat purchases were down 1 percent.
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