A container from ABP has reached China containing 25t of Irish beef. The beef has been purchased by Beijing Hopewise, a prominent Chinese import company that specialises in online and food service sales.

Hopewise will be supplying JD.com which is China’s largest online selling platform. The website sells a wide range of products including beef from the likes of Australia, Brazil, Uruguay and Canada. Beef that is grass-fed is often specially marked.

In China, meat sales on ecommerce platforms were estimated at €3.75bn last year. Over 75% of the meat sold online was beef and of that the majority was imported.

The arrival was marked by an ABP and Bord Bia hosted reception in Shanghai port on Tuesday. The Irish ambassador to China, Eoin O’Leary was in attendance.

Promotion

The Bord Bia office in Shanghai is currently rolling out a marketing and promotion campaign to support the sale of Irish beef online. It aims to introduce Irish beef to wholesalers, chefs and food service customers.

Bord Bia will run a series of regional seminars and participate in two major food trade fairs in China in the comings weeks.

In Ireland, 12 Chinese government officials are due to arrive for a two-week trade and knowledge transfer visit. The visit will focus on beef, pork, lamb and dairy ingredients.

Along with factory visits, there will be meetings with the Department of Agriculture, Teagasc and the EU Commission.

There will also be a visit to the National Ploughing Championships.

Read more

Tough weather conditions hit farmers across Europe