Benefits of renewed beef access to China must be seen in prices to farmers
The Department of Agriculture has announced that exports will now resume after they were suspended following the confirmation in May 2020 of an isolated case of atypical BSE.
The benefits of the resumed access of Irish beef to China must be seen directly in stronger prices for farmers, farm organisations have stressed.
The Department of Agriculture has announced that exports will now resume after they were suspended following the confirmation in May 2020 of an isolated case of atypical BSE.
Irish Farmers' Association president Tim Cullinan said that the reopening of the Chinese market presents the beef sector "with a huge opportunity" in what was a market showing strong growth potential before the suspension of access.
Mr Cullinan said that the full value of the Chinese beef market must now be developed.
“It is important that eligibility is secured for all Irish beef products and the market opportunity is not restrictive, the protocol must now be worked on to allow beef products from all Irish livestock,” he said.
IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said that the long-awaited reopening of the Chinese market is significant, "and we must see the benefits of this renewed access directly in stronger beef prices for cattle finishers".
He added that the production costs on beef farms are "well documented, and beef prices must now push on to offset these costs".
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association chair Edmund Graham also stressed that farmers must see a dividend as a result of the renewed access.
“There was much optimism about the initial opening of the Chinese market in 2018 and there will be optimism again now, but it is no use to us if it does not result in a price rise," Mr Graham said.
“Beef farmers are enduring a long, hard, and expensive winter and the current price of beef is simply nowhere near good enough to cover our increased cost of production.Â
Mr Graham said there can be "no doubt" that the reopening of this market should allow for better prices, because meat factories will have more options.
"They will therefore be in a stronger position to negotiate with EU supermarkets, and this opportunity must be used to drive a better price for farmers," he added.
Meanwhile, Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association president Pat McCormack said that development and growth of food exports to China must be a priority.
Mr McCormack said he questions “whether this huge opportunity would translate back into a return for the people actually producing the beef: the farmers”.
“We have been here far too often, where a new market is announced or a reopening of a temporarily closed market is confirmed, without any underlying effect or message for the people who will be doing the work and producing the food that will be exported to that market,” he said.
“If the reopening of the Chinese market to Irish beef doesn’t mean an increase in cents per kg for the Irish farmers producing the Irish beef, then it’s actually meaningless; it just becomes an empty marketing exercise.”Â
He said at this stage, the job “is only half-done”.
“Unless the farmers get a better price for their beef to a degree that makes it feasible to produce that beef, this whole project will remain just a positive PR spin as opposed to meaningful development," he continued.
“Ensuring that happens is no less the business of Government than were the negotiations with the Chinese officials that were successfully carried out.”
