Meat Industry Ireland welcome the return of beef exports to China

MEAT Industry Ireland (MII), the Ibec sector organisation representing the primary beef processing companies in Ireland, has welcomed the resumption of beef exports to China.

“This significant development will empower our member companies to enhance trade opportunities with valued customers in China. The suspension of beef exports in November 2023 was a regrettable setback, occurring amidst ongoing efforts to strengthen relationships and expand the types of beef product that we can export to China,” MII said in a statement.

“The importance of international markets was highlighted in the recent Bord Bia Export Performance and Prospects Report for 2023-24.

“In 2023, beef exports contributed a noteworthy €2.7 billion to the Irish economy, reflecting a commendable 2% increase in value. This demonstrates the robustness of the Irish beef sector in international export markets, the statement added.

Dale Crammond, Director of MII, said: “Accessing the Chinese market has been a strategic priority for MII members, and we welcome today’s announcement, acknowledging the work done by the Minister and his team. Members will now focus on re-establishing contacts with customers in China with a view to re-commencing trade as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the president of ICMSA, Denis Drennan, has warmly welcomed the announcement and said that credit was due to the ministers and their officials for convincing the Chinese to overturn a ban that Mr Drennan said was always “unnecessary”.

Mr Drennan said that taken together with the recent uptick in beef prices, the sector could now look into 2024 with more confidence and he called on Minister McConalogue to ‘build’ on these developments and look again at the whole area of greater integration of dairy and beef sectors as well as margins in the beef supply chain.