A decision by China to lift the beef embargo on the U.S. has a Kentucky cattle group optimistic.
The Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association president Chuck Crutcher said the lift will have a tremendous impact on the state’s beef industry adding around a $50 to $100 value to beef carcasses. In addition, Crutcher said the re-opening of the Chinese market will add jobs into feedlots and the shipping industry.
“This has been a day the cattle farmers across the country have been waiting for,” Crutcher said. “The economic impact is going to extend more than just beyond the beef industry.”
Crutcher said Kentucky is the largest beef cattle producer east of the Mississippi River with more than 1 million beef cows. He said China is currently the second largest consumer of beef in the world.
Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles applauded the embargo lift and said it will give Kentucky farmers access to a market of 1.3 billion people that has been unavailable for over a decade.
The Trump administration announced Thursday China will begin importing U.S. beef no later than July 16.
