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Bord Bia is reactivating its €1.6m beef and lamb promotion campaign in China after the announcement that a suspension imposed on Irish beef shipments has been lifted.
Irish beef exports to China had been temporarily halted after the discovery of a single case of atypical BSE in a 10-year-old cow in November 2023.
China’s move to reopen markets to Irish beef was announced after a meeting between Chinese premier Li Qiang, Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State Martin Heydon in Dublin on Wednesday.
Bord Bia has since stated its intention to host Irish beef information seminars for Chinese buyers in Beijing and Shanghai later this year.
The lifting of the suspension was welcomed as allowing Irish beef exporters to immediately resume shipments to China by Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole.
“In response to today’s news, Bord Bia has reactivated our €1.6m EU co-funded beef and lamb campaign in China,” O’Toole said.
“As part of the campaign, we will be inviting Irish exporters to exhibit at SIAL China, a high-profile meat trade show held in Shanghai in May.”
Positive outlook
Between January and November 2023, over 3,200t of Irish beef went to China at a value of €19.7m, according to the Central Statistics Office figures.
“Since Irish beef was first granted access to the Chinese market in 2018, Bord Bia’s Shanghai office and Irish exporters have been building close trading relationships with Chinese customers,” the agency’s China manager Conor O’Sullivan said.
“When the Chinese market reopened in January 2023, after the previous suspension, there was immediate interest from Chinese buyers.”
Bord Bia expects China’s medium-term beef outlook to be positive, with a steady growth in demand anticipated among consumers in 2024.
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