China suspends beef imports from 7 top suppliers

In a notice on its website, China's General Administration of Customs said it had suspended import declarations from two Argentine exporters, Frigorífico Regional General Las Heras SA and Frio Dock SA, and three Brazilian suppliers, Frisa Frigorífico Rio Doce S/A, Bon-Mart Frigorifico Ltda andJBS S/A.

JBS declined to comment, referring to the Brazilian MEAT Exporters Association (Abiec), which represents the sector.

All the companies involved failed to comply with Chinese requirements for registering foreign businesses, Abiec said, although the association did not go into detail.

Abiec said it was in talks with the relevant authorities to resolve the issue.

Uruguayan Frigorífico Sirsil SA and a Mongolian supplier were also affected. China's customs administration did not give a reason for the suspension.

Brazil , Argentina and Uruguay are among CHINA 's largest beef suppliers .

China's Commerce Ministry launched an investigation into a surge in beef imports late last year as the world's largest meat importer and consumer grappled with a supply glut that sent domestic beef prices to multi-year lows.

China imported a record 2.87 million metric tons of beef in 2024 , customs data showed .

The rise in imports has raised the risk of trade measures from Beijing that could hit key suppliers Brazil, Argentina, Australia and the United States .

The industry is awaiting the formal results of the investigation, which are expected later this year.