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Liffey Meats in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, has received approval from Chinese authorities to export beef to the Chinese market. It is the seventh Irish beef factory to receive such approval.
The factory has an approximate throughput of 1,500 cattle per week.
Liffey Meats was one of the original batch to apply but its approval was delayed as technical details needed to be worked through, the Irish Farmers Journal understands.
The last announcement of an approval prior to this was almost a year ago at the international trade fair SIAL in Shanghai.
A further 12 factories applied for export approvals in November 2018, but are still waiting.
Trade mission
“These will be a big focus point of the Minister’s trade mission to China in May,” said Cormac Healy from Meat Industry Ireland.
In total there are 12 Irish meat plants, seven beef plants and five pigmeat plants, approved for export to China.
"The geographic spread of these plants, with knock-on benefits to our farmers all across the country, is also notable. My focus is now on getting additional beef plants approved and I will also try to progress sheepmeat access to China as part of the trade mission there next month," Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed said.
Lucrative
The Chinese market is particularly lucrative at the moment. Foyle Meats in Donegal, which has approval, is paying a 5c/kg bonus for animals at the right specifications for the Chinese market.
Total Irish agri food trade exports to China reached almost €795m last year.
China is now our fifth largest export market overall and was the third largest dairy export market and the second largest pigmeat export market in the world for 2018.
According to forecasts from the US Department of Agriculture, China is expected to consume over 8.5m tonnes of beef in 2018. This is more than any other country outside the US and almost 4% ahead of 2017 levels.
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