Michael Creed, Minister

The Minister told the Irish Farmers Journal that, for him, the striking feature of China and the SIAL Food Show where Irish companies were exhibiting on the Bord Bia stand was the sheer size of everything.

He said the exhibition centre was 13 times the size of Croke Park and that China had one in every seven consumers in the world.

He announced that three more beef factories were cleared to export beef, making it six in total, but he didn’t reveal the names as protocol dictates that the Chinese authorities do that.

On how much beef business Ireland could do he wouldn’t commit to a volume or value beyond saying that he expected it to be substantial after 12 months.

On getting further access, the Minister for Agriculture said he is committed to getting the approval extended to include bone-in and chilled beef and he said negotiations on sheep meat access have commenced but he wouldn’t be drawn on a time line for approval.

Joe Healy, IFA president

The IFA president was accompanied by the livestock and pig committee chairmen, and his first impression was the size of the market and he told the Irish Farmers Journal that the reputation earned by the dairy and pigmeat industries of Ireland is a good base for our beef industry to enter the market.

He had met with farmer representatives from other EU countries that travelled as part of Commissioner Hogan’s EU mission which ran parallel to the Irish one.

He noted that the Chinese priority in food purchases was for quality and safety rather than price as is so often the case in the UK and EU and he met with the factories that were exhibiting to urge them to avoid competing against each other on price.

The IFA president also had the opportunity to speak with Chinese buyers who were particularly interested in photos he showed them of cattle grazing on his own farm and he felt there was a benefit in them hearing about Irish production straight from the farmers mouth.

Meanwhile, Ciara Leahy is at the Alltech conference in the US where Chinese beef exports prospects are also beign discussed. Listen to her interview with Alltech's Ian Lahiffe in our podcast below:

Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia

The Bord Bia chief executive told the Irish Farmers Journal that the market in China is huge and that the speed of change, growth and opportunities are impressive but present challenges that Bord Bia are looking to understand and build work programmes around.

She explained that Bord Bia had invested in comprehensive research to understand the Chinese market and consumers which had been shared with the meat industry prior to the start of the trade mission.

On the role of Bord Bia in developing the Chinese market, Tara McCarthy said that as a non-commercial semi state, Bord Bia couldn’t engage in active selling in the way that Ornua does in the dairy sector.

“Within state aid rules, Bord Bia cannot have a direct selling role.

“Our focus must be on supporting companies, through market insight, to develop their market strategies. Any direct selling remains the responsibility of the individual Irish companies,” McCarthy said.

Niall Browne, Dawn Meats

Niall Browne said that the trade mission was his third visit to China over the past 10 years and what caught his attention most is the advances in the use of technology in China which he believes is ahead of Europe.

Like the others he envisages serious business potential in China and it is already a well-established market for Dawn in the hides and skins trade.

In addition to their participation on the Bord Bia stand, Dawn also exhibited on the UK stand and the French stand.

In terms of benefit to Irish farmers he said the key is market access and “the more markets we are in the better we are able to put the jigsaw back together” [maximising carcase value requires each component part to be sold in the highest value market for that product].