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Huizhao Huang

Xiaofei Xu

Trade frictions between China and the European Union have spread to the importation of Pekin ducks, with Brussels opening an anti-dumping investigation on Thursday.
While the European Union and China recently signalled their intention to manage trade tensions, a complaint filed by five EU producers in May alleged that Chinese producers of the ducks benefited from state subsidies, cheap feed and other support channelled through the country’s five-year plans.
The EU notice announcing the anti-dumping probe said those imports caused “substantial adverse effects on the overall performance of the Union industry”, hitting sales, prices and market share.
The Pekin duck, the breed behind most of the world’s commercial ducks, originated in China before spreading globally, according to the European Food Safety Authority.
China dominates global duck production, accounting for close to 80 per cent of the world’s duck meat, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Exports of whole frozen ducks surged more than 95 per cent year on year in the first 11 months of 2025, data from China’s Waterfowl Industry and Technology Development Report shows.
The complaint singled out Shandong, China’s largest duck-producing province, saying subsidies for soy-processing and compound-feed mills there helped lower production costs.
It also cited measures designed to support agriculture in China’s latest five-year plan, which was approved in March, arguing they amounted to continued state support for the sector.
If the claims are upheld, the investigation could lead to anti-dumping duties on a wide range of duck products – whole birds and cuts, whether fresh, chilled, frozen, salted, dried or smoked, as well as prepared or preserved duck meat.
The EU poultry sector has long voiced concerns about rising imports.
In February, the Association of Poultry Processors and Poultry Trade in the EU Countries (AVEC) urged Brussels to suspend poultry imports from China after they rose more than 30 per cent last year, citing food safety and animal welfare concerns.
The industry’s lobbying reflects broader EU farm policy. An Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report published last year identified poultry meat production as among the sectors benefiting most from the EU’s agricultural trade protection measures.
AVEC has also opposed the EU-Mercosur trade deal, which would increase poultry imports from South American countries including Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, arguing they would not meet EU standards.
Anti-dumping action against Chinese agricultural goods is rare for the EU, which has largely targeted industrial products. Beijing, by contrast, has focused its retaliation to the bloc’s electric vehicle tariffs on European farm products, including brandy, pork and cheese.


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Five European duck producers allege that Chinese counterparts exporting Pekin ducks benefit from state subsidies, cheap feed and other policy support


Five European duck producers allege that Chinese counterparts exporting Pekin ducks benefit from state subsidies, cheap feed and other policy support.


Trade frictions spread as EU launches anti-dumping probe into imports of Chinese ducks

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Five European duck producers allege that Chinese counterparts exporting Pekin ducks benefit from state subsidies, cheap feed and other policy support

Five European duck producers allege that Chinese counterparts exporting Pekin ducks benefit from state subsidies, cheap feed and other policy support