After two years, China reopens market for Argentine poultry

In a joint statement following the meeting between the Argentine and Chinese delegations, it was announced that Argentine poultry exports are once again authorized for China, after two years of closure due to the 2023 avian influenza outbreak.

China is a crucial destination for Argentina’s poultry sector, which shipped claws and wings worth US$170 million to that market —accounting for 45% of the country’s poultry exports— before the shutdown.

“This is great news, really very good for us, and we’d been waiting for it for about a year, ever since the Chinese audit came to verify that all cases were fully resolved. In the meantime, China asked SENASA for additional assurances to ensure ongoing monitoring, and SENASA not only met those requests but also asked us to fulfill our part. Fortunately, everything is now published in China, all customs have been notified that the ban on these Argentine poultry products has been lifted,” Roberto Domenech, head of the Chamber of Poultry Processing Companies, told WBR.

Unlike the destinations where poultry companies have had to place their products up to now —such as Vietnam, Hong Kong, or certain African markets— claws and wings are in high demand in China and fetch better prices. “In 2023, when it was suspended, we were sending roughly US$160 or 170 million to China. Since the closure, we’ve likely lost around US$400 million in revenue,” the executive estimated.