China announced anti-dumping duties on Brazilian chicken Friday, saying investigations had revealed that poultry imports had done "substantive damage" to the domestic broiler industry. The tariffs - ranging from 17.8 percent to 32.4 percent - will take effect from February 17 and remain in place for five years, the commerce ministry said.

Some companies that have pledged to import at not lower than an agreed minimum price will be exempt, it added. Brazil is the largest source of frozen chicken meat in China, accounting for nearly 85 percent of all imports in 2017, according to China industry consultancy Zhiyan. The tariffs result from a probe on poultry imports which started in August 2017.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019