The meeting between President Trump and China’s President this weekend in Florida was productive for the United States beef industry. Nebraska rancher and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Craig Uden says the Chinese President indicated the country will allow U.S. beef exports, although he provided no timetable. And China has made similar claims before and not followed through, so there’s still a lot of work to be done to make that a reality.

China closed their market to U.S. beef in 2003 following the discovery of BSE in a Canadian dairy cow in Washington State. Then last September, they removed a ban on shipments of some beef products. However, China’s requirements for an acceptable traceability system help up sales.

He says by the U.S. obtaining access to just a small portion of the Chinese beef market, the economic benefits would be tremendous.

Uden says NCBA has been working with the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the North American Meat Institute since September on gaining access to the Chinese market.