It is going to take some time before Irish beef exports to China get back to the level they were at in 2020 before the ban came into effect, the director of Meat Industry Ireland, Dale Crammond, has said.

Crammond sees both opportunities and challenges in China following the reopening of that market to Ireland’s beef exports.

“In 2020, Ireland had exported almost 7,000 tonnes (t) of beef to China before the ban came in. That put us on track for 20,000t that year, which would have made it a reasonably-sized new market."

COVID-19 effects

“I think it is going to take some time to get back to that level,” Crammond told the Irish Farmers Journal in Shanghai this week, ahead of the Global Food Marketplace (SIAL) conference.

“The consumer sector has changed quite a lot since Ireland was last here, with the effects from COVID-19 still being widely felt. I think we need to be cautious about expectations for a rapid return to the levels we saw in 2020.

“I think the industry needs to look at where the opportunities are. China is a huge country and the demand for meat continues to expand. A targeted approach is probably the best one – there’s no point trying to take on the whole market.”

Supporting processors

Crammond sees his role as one to support the industry and to advocate for processors.

“We’ve access at the moment for boneless beef under 30 months. A priority for us is to see market access options widened to include bone-in, as that would increase export volumes over time.

“I’ll be working closely with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to move that forward.”