There is growing concern over the length of time the Brazilian beef import ban has been in place in China.

China banned beef imports coming into the country from Brazil in early September after two cases of atypical BSE were confirmed in Brazilian meat plants.

It was predicted that this ban would only last a short time, a matter of weeks, until the market was opened up again. A similar ban in 2019 only lasted 15 days.

Brazilian beef exports are up 1.5% in the year up to September with 1.27m tonnes of beef exported for the first nine months of 2021 mainly driven by Chinese demand.

Reuters reported last week that a number of shipments of beef, which left Santos port after the ban was imposed, have been refused entry to Chinese ports and instead have had to divert to Iran and Vietnam ports.

There is a thought that current stocks of meat are high in China at the moment and this could be taking the urgency out of the decision to resume imports.

There is a growing concern within the global beef industry on the impact that the Chinese ban could have on global beef markets.

If the ban continues, Brazil will need to find alternative markets. However, the likelihood of this impacting any Irish beef markets in the short term is very slim.

Ireland is also locked out of the lucrative Chinese market after an atypical BSE case in 2020.

The Irish Government has said that everything has been completed at its end and the reopening is in the hands of the Chinese authorities.

Back home, beef quotes remain steady with bullocks working off €4.15/kg to €4.20/kg while heifers are trading at €4.20/kg to €4.25/kg. Last week’s kill came in at 37,447 head.