China lifts ban on Canadian pork

OTTAWA — On the eve of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to Beijing, China has agreed to lift a ban on Canadian pork products, worth an estimated $50 million per year, Parliament heard Tuesday.

Pierre Lemieux, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture, told the House of Commons Tuesday that "effective immediately, China has agreed to lift the ban on all imports of pork products into China from Canada."

China, Canada's second-largest trade partner, banned pork imports from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico last May in the wake of the first outbreak of swine flu.

Harper, who stoked the ire of Chinese leaders in 2007 by meeting with the Dalai Lama, is hoping to move to more moderate ground with the Asian nation during his trip.

The policy change also means U.S. and Mexican pork producers will again have access to the growing Chinese market.

Canada's entire pork export business is worth $2.7 billion a year. Chinese importers purchased more than $45 million in Canadian product last year.

The trade ban was imposed after an H1N1 influenza outbreak on a central Alberta pig farm earlier this year.