Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 6/29/18



China has lifted a ban on exports of beef rom the UK for the first time since banning the product more than 20 years ago due to an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the British government announced.

Renewed access to the Chinese market is expected to be worth be worth £250 million (US$330 million) for UK exporters in the first five years alone, officials said in a news release.

The announcement will kick off official market access negotiations between the two nations, expected to take three years. It follows the Prime Minister Theresa May’s trade mission to China earlier this year, where she agreed to new measures to improve market access to China.

The development also follows a successful inspection visit in April 2018 hosted by Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, DAERA, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and the UK Export Certification Partnership. 

China is currently the UK’s eighth-largest export market for agri-food, with over £560 million (US$740 million) worth of food and drink bought by Chinese consumers last year.

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