Photo taken on July 14, 2017 shows locally sourced beef from Texas at a local market in Houston, the United States. (Xinhua/Yi-Chin Lee)
(ECNS) -- U.S. beef does not sell well in Beijing one month after it entered the Chinese market for the first time in 14 years, Securities Daily reported.
A salesperson at a Beijing store told the paper that imported U.S. beef is expensive and looks darker than other beef, so buyers are more interested in buying fresh meat at competitive prices.
The paper found U.S. beef is not offered for sale on a large scale although some e-commerce stores and supermarkets announced in the past it would be sold.
One store was found to sell U.S. beef produced on June 28 and packed on Aug. 16 with an expiration date of year hence. A salesperson said it took two months for U.S. beef to hit the Chinese market and that fresh beef tastes better than frozen cuts, "so real beef lovers will not buy the U.S. meat."
The beef sells for 106 yuan to 316 yuan per kilogram in Wumart retail outlets.
Insiders told the paper prices of U.S. beef are higher than estimated and has not caused a drop in prices for Chinese beef on the market.
Wang Chengcheng, an analyst with Sublime China Information Co. Ltd., said U.S. beef imported into China abides by strict requirements and will not flood the market with poor quality meat.
But the import still affects the domestic beef market. China's cattle industry lags behind U.S. producers in branding and efficiency, reported the paper.
