Bans on imports of US and Canadian bone in beef as well as US boneless beef for livestock less than 30 months old have been lifted by China, which is the second-biggest beef buyer in the world.

Ireland has been trying to target the Chinese beef market for some time. Despite progress on veterinary authorisations, Irish beef is still not on the Chinese consumer's menu.

The fact that many other countries are intent on gaining access to the Chinese beef market means competition is tough for Ireland. News that the US and Canada are now also in the running makes it even tougher.

The US Department of Agriculture estimates that beef and veal imports will jump 24% this year to 825,000t and China’s consumption will increase 3.4% to 7.59mt.

China stopped imports of US and Canadian beef in 2003 after a case of BSE was found in cattle. In 2010, China allowed imports of boneless under-30-month Canadian beef.

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Irish beef still not on the menu in China