U.S. beef sales to China fall after Beijing lets export registration expire

Sales for the week ending March 20 were virtually flat at 54 tons, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture . Sales were already low the previous week at 192 tons, and uncertainty about EXPORT figures has slowed activity.

The expiration date comes on top of additional tariffs imposed by CHINA on American MEAT and other products, making those products less attractive to Chinese buyers.

China did not renew export registrations for U.S. beef processors that expired March 16, although it did renew registrations for pork and poultry processors.

As a result, U.S. exporters and Chinese buyers are reluctant to make deals on U.S. beef produced after that date because of uncertainty about whether it will be approved, said Joe Schule, a spokesman for the FEMA. "Nobody wants to take a chance on the product," he said.