Business

Editor: Sharon Li
3 Sep 2008 03:31:20 GMT

BERLIN –China has opened its market for German pork under an agreement signed Monday in Beijing, the German Agriculture Ministry said Monday.

German Deputy Agriculture Minister Gerd Mueller and Wei Chuan Zhong, the vice-minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, or AQSIQ, have signed an agreement after two years of negotiations, which Mueller says is a “major, important step for the German meat industry.”

Germany currently exports meat goods worth nearly EUR6 billion. China offers a great growth opportunity for German farmers because the world’s most populous country is also the world’s biggest pork producer and consumer, Mueller said, pointing to forecasts that China’s growing prosperity and population will push up meat consumption by around 7% in the near future.

-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; 49 30 2888 410; andrea.thomas@dowjones.com

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