China has reopened its market to Irish beef imports, dropping a 2024 suspension that followed the discovery of a case of mad cow disease, Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, said on Monday.
“The confirmation today that the Chinese market will reopen for Irish beef is a very important and positive development in our bilateral agrifood trade with China,” Martin said in a statement after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on a visit to China last week.
A Chinese customs database showed that China resumed imports from Irish beef exporters on Monday.
Martin, the first Irish Taoiseach to visit Beijing in 14 years, had pressed China to restore access for Irish beef products and raised issues related to China’s new dairy tariffs during his trip.
Ireland exports the bulk of its output from the beef and dairy industries, which are major employers in the country. It is among Europe’s largest exporters of dairy products, shipping about 6 billion euros ($7 billion) of goods annually.
Ties between Beijing and Brussels have been strained since the EU imposed levies on Chinese electric vehicle imports in 2024, prompting Chinese retaliation including tariffs on EU dairy and pork products.
China last month imposed an import quota on beef from suppliers including Brazil, Australia and the U.S. to protect its domestic cattle industry.
($1 = 0.8565 euros)
(Writing by Conor Humphries)
