The UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Chinese authorities have entered into a new agreement to begin negotiations on opening export routes for British beef and lamb suppliers to China.
The latest agreement was achieved during UK and China trade talks hosted by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Office.
This is the first time that talks have opened since restrictions relating to Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were imposed on British beef and lamb in the 1980s.
Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said that the landmark agreement will be a great boost to British food exporters, a major part of the long-term economic plan, and could be worth millions to the economy.
"British beef and lamb is excellent quality so I welcome the opportunity to begin talks with the Chinese government to open trade routes for these great products once again," Paterson added.
This deal comes after Owen Paterson's visit to China in 2013 with the Prime Minister, where he secured an export deal for pork products worth up to £45m for the UK and his meeting with Minister Zhi on 1 April.
Last year, UK food and drink exports to China were worth £257m.
