China given go-ahead to import elephant ivory
Updated
A United Nations panel on endangered species has given China permission to import elephant ivory from Africa through a one-time auction.
It is a move that Japanese importers fear could spike prices through competition for the product, which only Japan had previously been allowed to import.
The Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or the CITES, approved the deal, making China the second country after Japan to be allowed to import ivory.
The two Asian countries will vie for the single sale of a total of about 108 tons of ivory stocks from elephants that died of natural causes held by Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
