Last week, Rep. Barry Moore, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (R-Virginia), and 41 Members of Congress, including House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glen Thompson, led a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai urging the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) to engage with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and to honor their 2020 trade agreement by restoring market access to states who followed agreed upon Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza protocols. These affected states include 158 poultry processing and cold storage facilities and represent 43 percent of boiler production in the United States.
“Poultry producers are under pressure not only to protect animal health but market health, too. American producers bet on reliable trading partners, and China is not holding up their end of the deal,” said Rep. Moore. “I urge Secretary Vilsack and Ambassador Tai to engage with their Chinese counterparts and encourage them to honor the 2020 agreement and restore American market access.”
Congressman Glenn Thompson is the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture.
“Trade is one of our most valuable tools to stimulate the economy, and China’s disregard for existing regionalization protocols is negatively impacting our poultry industry,” said Rep. Thompson. “Our nation’s growers follow long-standing guidelines to ensure the health and safety of poultry products. The Biden Administration must engage with the GACC to uphold our trade agreements and reopen this critical export market for U.S. poultry.”
Commercial Poultry in Alabama generates more than $15 billion in revenue annually. It accounts for 65.6% of annual farming revenue in the state and employs more than 86,000 Alabama workers on farms, processing plants, and allied industries.
The U.S. shipped about $732 million worth of broilers to Chinese buyers in 2020. That’s about 21% of total U.S. exports worldwide. Many of those chickens were raised in Alabama.
In 2021, China imported $3.1B in Poultry Meat, becoming the world’s largest importer. China imports Poultry Meat primarily from Brazil ($1.27B), the United States ($908M), Thailand ($327M), Russia ($250M), and Argentina ($137M).
Cutting off that market, especially with high input prices for feedstuffs and energy, could negatively impact Alabama poultry farmers.
Barry Moore is in his second term representing Alabama’s Second Congressional District.
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