Irish beef farmers have had a depressing spring, with prices more inclined to fall instead of rise, as is the normal pattern this time of year.

With specialised beef production from the suckler herd a marginal business at the best of times, experiences like this year do little to create confidence.

The reality is that the UK and wider EU market is depressed but that doesn’t reflect the picture across the world, with China now driving the global market for beef. It is not a question of if it will become Ireland’s second-most-important export market for beef; it is a question of when.

China demand

Currently there are just six Irish beef factories approved to export beef to China. Demand is so strong that Irish factories can sell as many of the cuts the Chinese buy as they can produce from in-spec cattle at present. Demand from China isn’t unique to Ireland. Sales from Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Uruguay are all well up on the same period 2018, which was a record year for Chinese beef imports.

Getting more factories approved

To maximise the benefit of the Chinese market for the Irish beef industry, two things need to happen.

First and most importantly, more factories need to get approved. Currently, there are a further 12 beef processing factories that are going through the approval process, and while there is an expectation that this should be completed in the near future, there is no such thing as predicting when it will happen.

The Irish stand at SIAL Shanghai in May 2018, where Irish beef was on display and samples for first time since BSE ban.

The major international food show takes place in Shanghai in May, where there will be a strong Irish presence.

Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed is expected to visit China at that time and while there are no guarantees, there would be a hope that the visit will hasten the approval process.

Specification for China

The second issue is specification. Foyle Donegal, one of the original factories approved for China, has introduced a 5c/kg bonus for cattle that meet Chinese requirements, which basically means that they must be under 30 months, and not come from a registered feedlot. Beef going to China has to come from cattle that haven’t been in a TB herd for the 12 months prior to slaughter.

That means that cattle from which the forequarter cuts can be used for the Chinese market will have steak meat and roasting cuts that are suitable for the UK supermarket trade.

There is now a scarcity of pigmeat as well which has resulted in a much-needed rise in Irish pig prices

African swine fever

The Chinese beef market is particularly strong at present, driven by the combination of continued natural annual growth and reaction to the African swine fever outbreak in pigs. This created an oversupply of pig meat at the end of 2018 and the beginning of this year but there is now a scarcity of pigmeat as well which has resulted in a much-needed rise in Irish pig prices over the past couple of weeks.

This is expected to sustain demand for the remainder of this year and there is a spin-off for beef as well.