(Yicai Global) July 5 -- The first batch of beef imported from the US has been sold in the Chinese market after China lifted the ban on U S beef imports.

"We have been waiting for this moment for almost 14 years," said the new US ambassador to China Terry Branstad, whose one of his first official ambassadorial duties after arriving in Beijing is to receive Sonny Perdue, US Agriculture Secretary, to jointly mark the return of US beef to the Chinese market.

As the US beef has come back to the Chinese market after nearly 14 years, the first batch of beef provided by suppliers is of high quality beef, like, the "prime and choice-grade" corn-fed beef, Craig Uden, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), told Yicai Global.

The grain-fed beef, being mainly corn-fed, has no grassy smell and can be simply fried directly. By contrast, the grass-fed beef is more suitable for boiling or stewing.

However, due to high grade, the after-tax price of the above-mentioned beef products is relatively high. At present, the US beef has been put for sale on several domestic e-commerce platforms. On Fruitday.com, the New York strip steak labeled with USDA prime-grade is priced at CNY158 (USD23) per 200 grams, Rib's eye steak at CNY178 per 200 grams, and the filet steak at CNY138 per 150 grams.

If the demand increases in the future, NCBA will also consider introducing the high quality but inexpensive "select-grade" beef to China, said Craig Uden. But the business has just begun and the decision will be made based on market reaction, he added.

Yicai Global learned that China's government has set strict standards for the US beef entering the Chinese market, especially for the content of ractopamine, which is known as "lean meat powder." Therefore, the volume of US beef that meet the Chinese standards is not high.

The new U.S. ambassador to China Terry Branstad, who was born in the traditional agricultural state Iowa, voiced strong interest in promotion of US agricultural products in China. At the inaugural press conference last week, Terry Branstad said that in addition to the US beef, China and US will also discuss corn and rice trade.

The US was the largest source of imported beef for China before 2003, contributing 70 percent of the total beef imports. Due concerns about mad cow disease, China imposed a ban on US beef imports after 2003, which it lifted only recently.