UK-China beef trade deal finalized: Exporters gain vital market ahead of Brexit

22 Oct 2019 --- The two-decade ban which prevented British beef exports to China finally came to an end earlier this year. Now, a new agreement could spell good fortune for UK meat suppliers looking for new trade deals as Brexit approaches. In June, Chinese government officials signed a protocol agreement to ship beef from the UK for the first time in 20 years marking the end of a ban following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak. Approval has been granted for full access in a deal estimated to be worth around £230 million (US$299 million) over the first five years.

Four sites have been cleared to export beef in the first instance, with shipments expected to arrive by the end of the year, according to the AHDB .

The ban on UK imports of beef began in 1996, at a time when the BSE – or “mad cow” – crisis was devastating the UK beef industry. BSE is a neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Over four million cows were destroyed in an effort to contain the outbreak, and 177 people died in the UK after contracting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) through eating infected beef.

A political and public health crisis resulted, and British beef was banned from export to several countries around the world. 

However, several years later and the UK-China trade deal has now been branded “a triumph” by industry leaders who have spent the last five years working in partnership to secure the agreement. 

It follows several inspections and inward missions hosted by the AHDB in partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) and other industry bodies including UKECP and FSA.

“This is a great end to a very successful year for our red meat exports,” says AHDB International Market Development Director Dr. Phil Hadley. “This new agreement is also fantastic news for our beef processors who will now have access to another market outside of the EU.”

“We know that there are challenging times ahead with Brexit, but we have continued to work collaboratively with government to create new opportunities for our red meat exports. We look forward to seeing the first shipments of beef arrive in China and hope to replicate the success of our pork exports in the beef sector,” Dr. Hadley concludes. 

Edited by Gaynor Selby