Inspectors from China’s food safety authority are to visit AFBI testing laboratories and a meat processor in Northern Ireland next month as part of a UK-wide inspection of BSE controls.

The visit by inspectors from China’s Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) is seen as another step towards lifting the Chinese ban on imports of UK beef.

It is understood a further visit from Chinese inspectors is scheduled for the autumn, when it is hoped that the ban will be formally lifted.

“These inspections are about demonstrating the strength of UK BSE controls and for us the objective is the lifting of the Chinese ban,” explained Conall Donnelly from the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA).

However, even with a successful outcome from next month’s inspections, beef exports to China remain some way off as gaining market approval to the world’s second largest beef importer is a slow process.

At a beef industry event in Glasgow last Saturday, Martin Williams from the UK Export Certification Partnership predicted that UK beef exports to China are unlikely before 2021.

The Republic of Ireland was the first EU member state to have the BSE ban on beef exports to China lifted in February 2015.

However, exports are yet to take off with the latest stage in the approval process occurring last week when a protocol on the export of frozen beef to China was signed off by respective government ministers.

The next step is for Chinese officials to visit Ireland to approve individual meat plants for export.

BSE status

Another boost to the NI beef industry’s reputation is likely next month when the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE) annual congress is expected to approve changing Northern Ireland’s BSE status from controlled risk to negligible risk.

“It will also enhance the reputation of the UK as a whole as it demonstrates the country is on a journey towards negligible risk. We fully expect this status to be an important tool in negotiations with China and we also expect it to be strongly used to further our access to other markets,” Donnelly said.

Previous estimates have suggested that attaining negligible risk status could be worth up to £12m annually to the NI beef industry.

Scotland’s BSE status is also up for revision at the OIE congress in Paris between 21 and 26 May.

Negligible-risk status can only be applied for if the last case of BSE was in a cow born more than 11 years ago. Under the rules, England and Wales are not eligible to apply until 2020 and the Republic of Ireland is not eligible to apply until 2021.