Tyson Foods has received approval from U.S. and Chinese officials to resume exporting American poultry to China after a close to five-year ban was lifted last month.
Tyson has approval to export poultry from all 36 of its its U.S. plants, but according the company’s chief supply chain officer for poultry Bernie Adcock told Reuters they will not export from every single plant.
Because of the rise of ASF in Asia, it is an opportune time for poultry in China as the country’s residents have begun to seek alternatives to pork.
“There’s an extreme amount of interest across all those parts from multiple buyers in China,” Adcock said in an interview with with Reuters.
The interest also stems from China’s use of products like chicken feet and wing tips, parts of the animal that are not eaten in the United States.
Last month, U.S. Trade Representatives projected more than $1 billion in poultry shipments to China annually.
According to the USDA, Sanderson, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp and others have also been approved to ship to China as well.