There couldn’t be more perfect timing than during May Beef Month for the announcement of a restoration of U.S. beef trade with China on May 12.

The market for U.S. beef exports to China had been closed for 13 years, and this is significant news as China is the second largest beef importing country in the world.

Government and Regulatory Affairs Manager for the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Jan Lee Rowlett explains how this affects Iowa beef producers, “It’s something that our members are really excited about and optimistic about, you know with China’s huge population. Their middle class is larger than the United States’ entire population so that represents a huge opportunity for our members as far as increased sales and demand of the products that they work hard to produce.”

Rowlett says China has been a huge priority of the beef community and that reopening the market is a step in the right direction. One more round of technical consultations between the U.S. and China must be performed to get the final details in place. Rowlett says the trade should start no later than July 16.