IFA president Tim Cullinan has welcomed the announcement by Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue that the Chinese market is re-opening for Irish beef.

He said the reopening of the Chinese market, after a lot of hard work, presents the beef sector with a huge opportunity in what was a market showing strong growth potential before the suspension of access in May 2020.

The IFA president said the full value of the Chinese beef market must now be developed.

“It is important that eligibility is secured for all Irish beef products and the market opportunity is not restrictive.

“The protocol must now be worked on to allow beef products from all Irish livestock,” he said.

IFA livestock chair Brendan Golden said the long-awaited reopening of the Chinese market to Irish beef is significant and we must see the benefits of this renewed access directly in stronger beef prices for cattle finishers.

He said the production costs on beef farms are well documented and beef prices must now push on to offset these costs.