ABP Food Group has announced an exclusive three-year supply agreement with Asian restaurant chain Wowprime Corporation to supply beef to its restaurants in China.
The agreement is estimated to be valued at €50 million and extends to ABP’s joint venture partners Slaney Foods and is contingent on Irish beef gaining access to the Chinese market.
ABP and Wowprime have also agreed to extend the arrangement to include ABP’s UK operations, in the event of the UK gaining market access to China.
Wowprime, a publically listed company headquartered in Taiwan, has over 400 restaurants in China and Taiwan, offering customers a mix of traditional Asian and Western cuisine across 18 brands.
ABP Food Group has been assessing the Asian markets over the past seven years and appointed a business development manager for the region in 2012, which helped the company explore the potential of the market and to work closely with Bord Bia and other state agencies in evaluating potential opportunities.
Commenting on the announcement, Mark Goodman, managing director of ABP’s International Division, said: “ABP Food Group is delighted to sign this initial and exclusive agreement with Wowprime.
“It is a tangible endorsement of the quality beef that ABP has to offer, and it is another significant step in developing new market opportunities for our products against the uncertain backdrop of Brexit.”
Last month, ABP extended its range of premium “Irish Nature Organic” striploin, ribeye and T-bone steaks with YATA, the Hong Kong based supermarket chain. The beef products are now available in all of the retailer’s ten stores in the prefecture.
In Asia, the company also exports Irish beef to the Phillipines and Japan.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
