Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) president Francie Gorman has stated that beef processors must recognise the opportunities posed by Irish beef access to China by lifting farmers’ prices.
Gorman was speaking in response to the announcement on Wednesday that Irish beef shipments to China can now resume with the lifting of a ban which had been in place since November 2023.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had raised the issue when meeting with Chinese premier Li Qiang in Dublin, as had Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State Martin Heydon.
“We are always seeking access to as many markets as possible and the Chinese market offers very significant opportunities,” Gorman commented.
Renewal
“The renewal of access to this market must be reflected in further price increases for farmers.”
The IFA president called for the resumption of export activity without delay and questioned the time taken to once more secure access, as the reason for the ban had been precautionary.
“Given the nature of the case which brought about the suspension, there shouldn’t have been any delay in regaining access,” he said.
“Beef farmers will hope the formalities are concluded as quickly as possible and that trade will resume.”
ICSA reaction
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association (ICSA) beef chair Edmund Graham has said the resumption of beef exports to China is welcome, but stressed that farmers must see a dividend as a result this time.
“We have fought hard once again to get Irish beef back into the Chinese market and the opportunity is there to really make that market count and count for the primary producers of beef, not just the processors.
"The resumption of exports to China must lead to an increase in beef price,” he said.
“Beef farmers are enduring yet another long, hard and expensive winter and the current price of beef is still not enough to cover our increased cost of production. Beef price needs to go to a base price of a least €6.00/kg in the short term to cover the costs of this winter.
“We know there was a lot of optimism in 2018 with the initial opening of the Chinese market and then again in early 2023 when exports to China first resumed following a break of over two years.
"There will be optimism again now, but it is no use to us if it does not result in a price rise for beef producers. This opportunity must translate into a concrete rise in beef prices for it to be truly beneficial.”