Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2017
518. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress on gaining access for Irish meat products, that is, beef, lamb and pigment to China; the remaining stages in the approval process outstanding; and the approximate timeframe for all stages to be completed and full access granted. [15469/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland enjoys market access to the Chinese market for Irish pigmeat and a number of establishments are approved for export to China. In 2016 Ireland exported almost €120 million or over 70,000 tonnes of pigmeat to China, making it the second largest destination for exports after the United Kingdom. China accounted for 27% of our pigmeat exports in volume terms in 2016.
As regards beef, getting market access is a major priority for the Department at present. The Chinese lifted the BSE ban on beef from Ireland in 2015, making Ireland the first EU Member State to make this progress, and this was followed by a systems audit visit conducted by the General Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in January 2016. As part of the Ministerial Trade Mission to China in September 2016 there was a political meeting with the Chinese AQSIQ Minister and he agreed to expedite consideration of the report of that inspection visit. This report was received in November and replied to in December. Following on from the positive outcome to that audit visit the next stages will be the agreement of a protocol and an export health certificate with the Chinese authorities. This is under active consideration at present by officials from both sides. Once that stage is complete Irish beef establishments will need to be approved to export to China and this normally involves an individual plant inspection visit conducted by the Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA). Both the Department and the Irish Embassy in Beijing have been very active on the outstanding issues on beef and are satisfied with the progress made to date.
As regards sheepmeat, my Department completed a sheepmeat questionnaire in 2014, which was submitted by Minister Coveney during a trade mission that year. However, we are advised by the Chinese authorities that it is only possible to make progress on one species at a time. Once market access for beef is achieved, we will seek to progress further our market access for sheepmeat.
