Chinese customs data shows that Beijing has renewed export licences for hundreds of U.S. beef processing plants, including facilities owned by Tyson Foods and Cargill. The reinstatements were recorded as the leaders of the two countries met in Beijing on Thursday.
Over the past year, more than 400 U.S. beef plants lost eligibility to export to China after permissions originally granted between March 2020 and April 2021 lapsed, according to the customs information. That figure represented roughly 65% of the facilities that had once been registered to ship beef to China.
The loss of registration had a material impact on trade flows. Exports of U.S. beef to China plunged last year after registrations for most U.S. beef plants expired on March 16. For the year, volume fell 48% compared with 2024 levels, while export value dropped 69%, based on the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s report using USDA data. U.S. beef shipments to China reached a peak of $1.7 billion in 2022.
The customs records identifying the recent licence renewals list a wide range of processing plants among those reinstated. The data specifically names plants owned by Tyson Foods and by Cargill as included in the renewals, though the customs material does not provide details about the terms or duration of the renewed permissions.
Market observers and industry participants will likely watch subsequent customs updates to determine whether the renewed registrations fully restore prior export capacity and whether trade volumes recover toward previous levels. The customs data itself does not state whether the reinstatements will remain in effect for an extended period or whether further regulatory steps will follow.
For U.S. beef exporters and the broader meatpacking sector, the renewed licences could be a critical development, given the steep declines in both volume and value recorded after the lapse of registrations. The scale of the prior drop - nearly half the volume and more than two-thirds of export value - underscores the exposure of the sector to changes in registration status between the two countries.
Chinese customs data served as the source for the renewals and for the counts of facilities that had lost export eligibility over the previous year. The U.S. Meat Export Federation’s USDA-based report provided the figures for the decline in export volume and value and the 2022 peak export value.