China’s ban on the importation of Burmese meats has left the country’s exporters with warehouses full of frozen meat that have yet to find a potential destination.

Hla Hla Thein, deputy director of Myanmar [Burma] Livestock Federation, said the unprompted ban of Burmese meat imports to China has left exporters in Burma with little time readjust their operations.

“As [China] abruptly imposed the ban, exporters were left with their frozen products, ready to ship, in warehouses – they told the [MLF] it is not very convenient to sell [their products] on the domestic market,” said Hla Hla Thein.

According to the deputy director, there are no markets in Burma that sell frozen meat.

The MLF received a letter from China’s State Food and Drug Administration on 18 June detailing the country’s ban on meat imports from countries that have been affected by widespread animal-borne diseases including bird flu and foot and mouth disease

Win Sein, a member of the Myanmar [Burma] Exporters Association, said: “Not only our country, they also banned [meat imports] from other ASEAN nations as well. But they’ll buy from us again.”

Burma exports 30 million USD worth of frozen beef and other meat products to China annually, says Win Sein, who claims that China is known to cut off imports from when they have a surplus in the country.

“They’d ban when they have surplus and then unban when they need it,” says Win Sein.