The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has said that two days of bilateral talks between the ministers have allowed “a number of significant advances” to be made market access for Irish beef to China.

“With reference to beef access, both Ministers signed a formal protocol on beef exports to China that paves the way to access for Irish beef to China,” the department said in a statement.

A veterinary health certificate with Chinese authorities is still being finalised, which will then be followed by inspections by Chinese officials to approve individual processing plants for export.

“I look forward to moving with the next steps as quickly as possible,” said Minister Creed.

Last year, China was the second-largest importer of beef in the world, taking in 825,000t. Beef imports by the Asian nation are expected to rise to 1.2m tonnes by 2025.

Industry experts believe that should Ireland secure access for beef, China could quickly become Ireland’s second most important destination after the UK, and grow to 10% of export sales.

Further updates and analysis will follow on www.farmersjournal.ie and in this week's edition of the Irish Farmers Journal.

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