(Yicai) June 18 -- China has opened an anti-dumping investigation into pork imported from the European Union, which supplied half of the country’s imports of the meat last year, at the request of the China Animal Agriculture Association, the body that represents the domestic pork industry.

The probe is based on anti-dumping regulations and aims to determine whether EU pork and its by-products are sold at prices below value and have caused substantial injury to China’s pork industry, the commerce ministry announced yesterday.

The first aspect will cover last year and the second aspect the three years ended Dec. 31, 2023. The entire investigation will last about a year, but can be extended by six months, the ministry said.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork. It produced 57.94 million tons last year and imported 1.55 million tons. About half of the imports came from the EU, equalling about 2.7 percent of China’s production of the meat.

Due to European eating habits, if EU countries cannot export pig by-products to China, prices and the region’s breeding industry may be weakened, an analyst said. Pork imports account for a small fraction of China’s supply, so the investigation’s impact on the domestic market will not be significant, the person said.

According to China’s anti-dumping regulations, the commerce ministry can use questionnaires, sampling, hearings, on-site checks, and other means to understand the situation and make inquiries with relevant stakeholders. Stakeholders should submit information about the products and companies within a specified time.

Editor: Martin Kadiev