SELBYVILLE, DE – The People’s Republic of China is reportedly halting imports from local agricultural food production and processing company Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc.
The announcement comes the same day China announced retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. imports beginning April 10 in response to President Donald Trump’s order of “reciprocal” tariffs against the East Asian country earlier this week.
On Friday, Chinese officials said they were suspending poultry imports from two U.S. companies due to a banned drug in China reportedly detected in shipments. One of those companies listed in the ban is Mountaire Farms of Delaware.
Mountaire Farms of Delaware, Inc. is one of two of Mountaire’s operating affiliates along with Mountaire Farms, Inc., according to Mountaire’s website.
China’s customs administration claims Mountaire Farms of Delaware’s and fellow poultry company Coastal Processing’s shipments of chicken repeatedly contained furazolidone, according to the AP. The drug has been used to treat bacterial and protozoal infections.
Furazolidone is part of a class of drugs called nitrofurans, which were prohibited in food-producing animals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2002, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
It is currently unclear how long the suspension of shipments from Mountaire is expected to last in China.
China is one of the United States’ top consumers of exported poultry products, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In 2022, poultry meat and products exported to China had an estimated total value of $1.09 billion, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
WBOC reached out to Mountaire Farms for comment on Friday but did not receive an immediate response.
