Foyle Donegal has landed its first consignment of Irish beef into China, having completed the entrance process earlier this week.

ABP is also on its way, with the first consignment dispatched last Friday and due arrive in a few weeks, with several more containers to follow shortly.

Slaney hasn’t anything on the move yet but is putting down stock and will be shipping soon.

That means the three factories that received approval first are all now actively engaged with the Chinese beef market. ABP also announced this week its second major deal in China with Beijing Hopewise Ltd to launch a range of premium Irish beef products on JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce platform.

Dawn Charleville, Kepak Clonee and Liffey Meats also have approval for China, which means six Irish factories in total are now approved.

Processing for China is limited to cattle under 30 months and a high degree of separation is required in factories to meet the requirements of Chinese authorities.

As the commercial business is now under way, the issue of tariffs comes into question with Irish beef subject to a 12% tariff plus VAT of 10%.

This gives Australia and New Zealand an advantage in the Chinese market as they are well on their way to a zero tariff because they have a free trade agreement.