China's customs authorities have lifted a five-year ban on pig and pork products from Belgium that was implemented because of an outbreak of African swine fever in 2018.
Pig and pork products exported to China must comply with statutory inspection and quarantine requirements, the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said in a joint statement.
The world's largest pig producer said the decision was based on the result of a risk analysis.
China on Thursday prohibited the import of pig, pig products and wild boars from Bangladesh after the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) reported an outbreak of the disease in the country's major port city of Chittagong.
China Exports
Overall, China's exports rose 2.3% in December from a year earlier, while imports increased 0.2%, customs data showed on Friday (12 December).
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a 1.7% increase in exports, after outbound shipments grew 0.5% in November, and that imports would expand by 0.3%, after dropping 0.6% a month prior. `
The improved Chinese export data joins those from South Korea, Germany and Taiwan in suggesting global trade is starting to recover, after higher interest rates in the United States and Europe crimped demand and led the United Nations to warn that goods trade likely contracted by $2 trillion or 8% in 2023.
China's yuan firmed against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after comments from a Federal Reserve official reinforced market participants' views that current U.S. rates are enough to lower inflation which should pave the way for cuts later this year.
Additional reporting by ESM
