The decision follows meetings between French State Trade Secretary, Matthias Fekl, and ambassadors of a number of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China and Singapore, at the end of July.

French officials said the meetings were held to boost the prospects for France's beef trade with other countries, adding that "these markets represent an important growth opportunity for our exporters."

The move has been hailed by French Agriculture minister Stéphane Le Foll, as the growing number of middle class consumers in Singapore will provide a lucrative market for French beef exporters.

Last year the EU struck a trade deal with Singapore which is expected to come into force early next year.

The deal follows a similar agreement with Vietnam this month, although this deal is still subject to Council and Parliament approval.

The two deals are part of a push to ensure EU producers can meet growing demand for their products in Asian markets as well as to diversify export destinations in the wake of the ongoing Russian ban.

Singapore lifted its ban on Irish beef in September 2011, after the market closed to Ireland eleven years earlier due to scares over BSE. Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said at the time that "non-EU markets offer an important alternative outlet to our exporters, along with the real potential for expansion."

The ban on Northern Ireland was lifted two years later in 2013, in a move which Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill described at the time as "a huge opportunity for the beef industry in Northern Ireland."

Beef imports to France

While the market for French beef exports is growing, the market for beef imports into France is shrinking due to lower consumer demand among the French public.

This decline in demand for beef has led to a drop in the number of exports to the country from all major beef suppliers, including Ireland, who exported 500 tonnes less in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period last year.

This trend was also apparent among the other major beef suppliers to the country, Germany, Belgium and Italy, who each saw exports fall by 2,300 tonnes, 100 tonnes and 2,000 tonnes respectively.