Beef to tap into Chinese market

The Government is hopeful of making solid progress on opening up the key markets of China and the US for Irish beef exports this year.

Its optimism comes on the back of Japan lifting its 13-year ban on Irish beef exports last month.

It has been estimated that the lifting of that ban — imposed in the aftermath of the BSE outbreak in 2000 — could be worth around €15m per year to the Irish food industry.

At the publication of Bord Bia’s 2013 performance review yesterday, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said that while he did not want to put a solid timeframe on the opening of such markets, he is hopeful of “significant progress” being made — particularly in relation to China — during 2014. However, he stressed that while his department will offer all the reassurances it can, the decision will ultimately be down to the Chinese government.

However, Mr Coveney said he hoped good news regarding the future of Irish beef exports to both China and the US could be communicated “in the not too distant future”.

In December, a delegation from Mr Coveney’s department visited China for discussions on lifting the beef importation ban, which has been in place for every EU country since the BSE scare.

In the aftermath of that visit, Mr Coveney said that there remained “a number of stages to go before Ireland secures access for beef to China”, but added: “I am hopeful that these can be progressed in 2014.

“There is a strong demand for meat globally and my focus is to enable Irish exporters to take advantage of the opportunities that arise.”

Yesterday’s Bord Bia update outlined the huge export opportunities for Irish food producers in the coming years, with massive global population growth expected and something like 3bn more people joining the middle classes in the next 20 years.

Ireland remains the largest exporter of beef in the northern hemisphere and developing nations are expected to drive the anticipated surge in beef demand in the next decade.

China is already Ireland’s second largest dairy market and Ireland’s third largest trading partner in relation to pork product.