China's meat importers fret about delays as port runs virus tests

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The worrying reports of a new upsurge in coronavirus cases in Beijing this week sees supply chains again take a central role, according to this news report from Reuters. The new outbreak has been linked to one of Beijing’s largest food markets and, given the country’s reliance on meat imports from the US and Brazil – the two worst coronavirus-hit countries, respectively – officials in the nearby port of Tianjin are now understood to be inspecting every single reefer carrying imported meat through its facilities for coronavirus, leaving Chinese importers fearing the build-up of large backlogs of cargo. “Authorities usually conduct food safety tests on a random sample of about 10% of frozen meat shipments. Now, every container in Tianjin is opened and boxes pulled out for coronavirus tests.”