China imports African lamb products for the first time, opening a new chapter in China-Africa trade

On September 8, a batch of goods with special significance arrived at the designated inspection site for imported meat in Hongxing, Hunan. This is frozen lamb from Madagascar, Africa, with a total of 50 pieces and more than 900 kilograms. The arrival of this batch of lamb marks China's first import of lamb products from Africa and is also a remarkable phased achievement in the transportation of African meat products to China.

Last year, Madagascar lamb obtained the access qualification for transportation to China. After this imported lamb was airlifted from Madagascar to Guangzhou Baiyun Airport and then transported by truck to the designated inspection site for imported meat in Hongxing, Hunan. The whole journey takes about 36 hours. Subsequent plans also include importing through water transportation from Chenglingji Port.

To ensure the smooth import of this batch of lamb, Changsha Customs has done a lot of work. They formed a special working group and connected with Madagascar lamb processing enterprises remotely via video many times to guide them to improve their quality and health and safety management systems and handle the registration application for overseas production enterprises of imported food.

The person in charge of Changsha Laonongmin Agricultural and Sideline Products Co., Ltd., the importer, said that Madagascar lamb will enter many catering and supermarket platforms inside and outside Hunan Province to bring more high-quality meat choices to Chinese consumers. It is understood that Zhongma Animal Husbandry (Madagascar) Co., Ltd., the processing and production enterprise of lamb, is invested and built by Yuan's Seed High-Tech Co., Ltd., an enterprise in Hunan, in the local area. This company is also one of the main enterprises exporting hybrid rice seeds from Hunan to Africa. From the export of hybrid rice seeds to the import of lamb, it truly realizes the "two-way rush" of high-quality products between Hunan and Africa. Yuan Ding'an, chairman of Yuan's Seed High-Tech Co., Ltd., said that the lamb from Madagascar has delicious meat and has dual advantages in quality and price in the Chinese market. At present, the company has initially established a whole industry chain of live sheep fattening, slaughtering and processing, and export in the local area. It is expected that within 3 to 5 years, it can achieve an annual export of 20,000 tons of lamb to China.

This incident not only enriches China's meat market supply but also injects new vitality into China-Africa trade cooperation, further promoting the development of China-Africa friendly relations. It has important milestone significance. In the future, it is expected to see more high-quality agricultural products from Africa enter the Chinese market.