WASHINGTON: Huge amounts of American beef are being illegally smuggled to the mainland through Hong Kong, deputy US trade representative Robert Holleyman said in Washington.
The mainland banned imports of US beef in 2003 after the discovery of mad cow disease in American livestock. Washington has since urged Beijing to lift the ban, without success.
Hong Kong also suspended imports of US beef after the 2003 disease outbreak but resumed the trade in phases from 2005.
Last month mainland customs officials arrested 33 people suspected of smuggling 6,000 tonnes of beef worth US$32.6 million into the country, according to the China Daily website. It is not clear if that beef had come via Hong Kong.
While the amount of American beef smuggled through Hong Kong to the mainland is unknown, US trade officials said it was more than all the beef consumed in Hong Kong.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the US exported more than 154,500 tonnes of beef to Hong Kong last year, up nearly 19 per cent from 2013.
Man Cheuk-pui, chairman of Fresh Meat United, which represents meat retailers in Hong Kong, said it had been an open secret for many years that there were people smuggling US beef to the mainland via the city.
Import and export sector lawmaker Wong Ting-kwong said the Hong Kong government had no power or duty to stop traders violating the mainland ban.
