China approves imports of Irish beef products

After a nearly 20-year ban on the importation of beef and beef products from the European Union (EU), China is reportedly ready to authorise a number of beef producers based in Ireland to resume exporting beef products to their country.

According to recent report from the Reuters News Agency, Chinese authorities have been conducting inspections of selected meat export facilities in Ireland since 2014 and are set to include a number of Ireland-based companies to their list of authorised producers. Such an action would give Ireland access to the world’s fastest-growing market for beef and the second largest importer of beef and beef products, and would reportedly help to reduce potential vulnerabilities to the Irish economy resulting from the United Kingdom’s eventual exit from the EU.

China’s government originally banned the importation of beef and beef products from EU member states as well as the US and other countries following the “mad cow” disease outbreak in the 1990s. Since then, the US and South Africa have regained market access to China for beef exports.