Ohio poultry farmers could see business pick up now that China has lifted a ban on poultry imports from the U.S.
“That is going to be a huge boom when we start shipping poultry back into China. The demand is going to be fantastic,” says Ohio Farm Bureau spokesman Ty Higgins.
Sales of Ohio eggs, chickens and turkeys bring in more than $1 billion annually to the state.
Higgins says China lifting a ban on those imports will help farmers around the state who have been hurt by tariffs. He also says it will be a boost to other farm businesses.
“When you look at the trickle-down effect, those chickens eat corn and soybeans. The demand for those products, which we grow a lot of across the state, will go up as well," Higgins says. "So it really is going to help the economy for Ohio, but also an economy that has been struggling as of late in rural Ohio."
Since 2015, China had not allowed poultry products imported from the U.S. because of an avian influenza outbreak, even though there have not been signs of the disease since 2017.
