British meat promoted in Beijing
British meat promoted in Beijing
The Beijing Meat Exhibition took place at the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing from 17th to 19th June – immediately after the World Meat Congress. BPEX and EBLEX decided to have a joint stand in the international area of an exhibition that has been growing in importance over the years.
The opening ceremony included speeches made by He Luli, vice chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress, and Guillaume Roué, the newly elected president of the International Meat Secretariat. The international presence in the exhibition was doubtless enhanced because the exhibition took place in the immediate aftermath of the World Meat Congress.
Guillaume Roué, the newly elected president of the International Meat Secretariat.
International stands from 29 countries were present at the exhibition together with countless Chinese stands throughout the eight halls in the Centre.
So far three British pig processing companies have approval for export to China – and all three companies had staff representatives on the EBLEX/BPEX stand. It provided a good opportunity to engage with existing customers as well as to seek out new business opportunities. EBLEX is working to secure approval for British beef and lamb exports to the Chinese market – at present it is only possible for the UK to export beef and lamb to Hong Kong; being present in China is an important indication of their commitment to gaining access to this important market.
EBLEX have been encouraged by the recent landmark agreement between Defra and the Chinese authorities to begin negotiations for the approval for British beef and lamb exports to mainland China; however, it is recognised that these negotiations are likely to take at least two years to be completed.
Altogether the AHDB team are planning to be present at five exhibitions in China during the year. Jean-Pierre Garnier, EBLEX export manager, was upbeat about the exhibition. He said: “The CIMIE is an important event for meat exporters to China. It is the main specialised meat exhibition and organised by the China Meat Association. It is important for us to be present because our competitors are all there.
“We generated a good level of inquiries at CIMIE mainly from Northern China and the whole event is a good sounding board to understand Chinese meat demand, with importers reporting shortages of beef and lamb. We are back in China in November for Food & Hotel China and are aiming to develop our export business further in this huge market in the meantime”.
