Putting a time on when Irish beef exports will be granted access to China is not possible, the assistant secretary general at the Department of Agriculture, Sinéad McPhillips, has said.

Speaking at the Lismullen conference Farming prospects in changing timesin Co Meath on Friday, McPhillips said that as a result of audits in August and September last year, Ireland has further steps to take in order to gain access.

“We are working to a Chinese timetable, putting a time on China is not possible. The ball is not in our court,” she said.

As the second largest importer of beef in the world, China could be a lucrative market for Irish beef exports. Chinese beef imports are forecast to rise to 1.2m tonnes by 2025.

Protocol

Speaking at the ICSA AGM on Thursday night, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed mentioned access to China for Irish beef, saying: "We would be very disappointed if we didn’t crack that in 2018."

In April of last year, Ireland signed a formal protocol on the export of frozen beef from Ireland to China.

This was described by the Minister Creed as “another major milestone in the process of getting Irish beef into the Chinese market”.

Following this, the minister said it was a matter of ‘when’ more than ‘if’ Ireland would get beef access to China.

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