ZCZC
BCN-24
BRITAIN-CHINA-FOOD-TRADE-BEEF
China lifts ban on import of British beef
LONDON, June 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – China has lifted a ban on importing
British beef lasting more than 20 years that was triggered by the “mad cow
disease” outbreak, the UK government said on Wednesday.
“China has today lifted its longstanding ban on exports of beef from the
UK, in a landmark move for British producers estimated to be worth o250
million ($329 million, 284 million euros) in the first five years alone,”
said a statement.
“This is great news for British farmers,” finance minister Philip Hammond
said on Twitter after a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua.
Hammond at the meeting said Britain wanted “a substantially deeper
economic and financial trade relationship between the UK and China”.
The announcement comes two days after China signed a deal to lift a ban on
French beef imposed more than a decade ago.
Announcing an end to the British ban, the UK government said: “Today’s
milestone is the culmination of several years of site inspections and
negotiations between UK and Chinese government officials.”
– ‘Fantastic news’ –
Environment Secretary Michael Gove called it “fantastic news”, allowing
the country to “be a truly outward looking Britain outside the European
Union”.
China is the UK’s eighth largest export market for agri-food, with more
than o560 million worth of food and drink bought by Chinese consumers last
year.
Food exports from Britain to the rest of the world were worth o22 billion
last year.
The lifting does not mean that beef imports into China can resume
immediately but it opens the way for official market access negotiations,
which usually last around three years.
China earlier this week signed a similar deal to lift a ban on French beef
that was imposed over a decade ago as China started closing off its markets
to all European imports and later to US beef imports after the “mad cow”
disease.
China resumed imports of US beef in June 2017 after a 14-year embargo.
China’s appetite for beef has risen over the past decade with an increase
in living standards.
Brazil, Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand are currently the main
suppliers of beef to China, accounting for almost 90 percent of its imports
in 2016.
EU exports of agricultural products to China have doubled over the last
five years from 6 to 12 billion euros ($7 to 14 billion).
BSS/AFP/HR/1055