Latest figures from Bord Bia have indicated the volume and the value of Irish beef exports to China, with data available up to the end of August of this year.
According to the figures, over €16 million worth of Irish beef had been exported to China in the first eight months of this year.
In terms of volumes, over 2,692t of beef had been exported from Ireland to China since the market reopened to Ireland in January of this year.
In the same time period of 2020, just under 6,200t or €22.8 million worth of Irish beef had been exported to the market destination, despite the suspension of Irish beef shipments to China, resulting from an isolated case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
The market remained closed to Irish beef, with the exception of Hong Kong, which operates as a special administrative region with different market access rules.
This was the case until January 2023 when the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, announced the resumption of Irish beef exports to China.
The Chinese market remained opened to Irish beef until yesterday (Tuesday, November 7), when the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) announced that beef exports to China have been suspended after tests confirmed another case of atypical BSE.
In a statement, DAFM said “tests carried out at the department’s Central Veterinary Research Laboratory confirmed a case of atypical BSE on November 3”.
According to DAFM, “the animal in question was a 10-and-a-half-year-old cow and was identified during the department’s on-going systematic surveillance of fallen animals at knackeries”.
“The animal did not enter the food or feed chain, and there are no public health risks associated with this occurrence,” DAFM stated.
“Exports of beef to China are now temporarily suspended. The timeframe for resumption is a matter for the Chinese authorities,” the statement confirmed.