On 20 February, 2015 Taoiseach Enda Kenny made the very welcome announcement that a formal agreement had been reached with China on lifting its ban on Irish beef.
Access to the Chinese market is a major boost to the Irish beef sector and came on the back of the US lifting its ban on Irish beef. European beef had been banned in China and the US since the BSE crisis severely damaged the industry almost 15 years ago.
After China lifted ban on Irish beef, Ireland became the only European country to make the significant breakthrough in both the United States and China, the worlds’ biggest individual market, with a population of 1.35 billion. This is a fantastic breakthrough for the Irish farming and food industry.
