Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 4/20/10

China may cut imports of U.S. chicken by about 55 percent as anti-dumping tariffs take effect, USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a recent report.

An FAS attaché report posted Monday indicated China's imports of U.S. chicken in 2010 could drop to 150,000 metric tons from 335,000 metric tons forecast last year. The official USDA estimate, meanwhile, sees a reduction to 300,000 metric tons.

In February China began imposing duties on imports of U.S. chicken in the form of cash deposits ranging from 43 to 105 percent of value. The move followed Beijing's initial finding that U.S. chicken producers sold at below-market prices. The tariffs will remain in place until the government's final determination, expected sometime this summer, according to the report.

Despite the anti-dumping tariffs and an expected 4 percent increase in China's broiler production this year, FAS predicts strong demand will boost total imports (excluding paws) by 6 percent to 425,000 metric tons. The main beneficiaries of the reduction in U.S. imports will be Argentinean and Brazilian poultry producers, the report said.

The United States accounted for 80 percent of the 401,000 metric tons of broiler meat imported by China last year. South American countries accounted for almost all of the remainder.

China was the third-largest importer of U.S. poultry in 2009 behind Russia and Mexico.

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