The Irish Investment Development Agency recently stated that the bilateral trade between Ireland and China has grown significantly in the past 10 years, and the two sides have great development potential in cooperation in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, food, digital economy, biomedicine, green and low-carbon development, artificial intelligence, etc. In recent years, in addition to agriculture and animal husbandry, Ireland’s projects to attract Chinese investment have gradually expanded from financial services to high-tech industries and life sciences.
Chinese Ambassador to Ireland He Xiangdong said that China-Ireland relations have maintained a good development momentum, and bilateral economic and trade relations have continued to develop strongly in recent years. At present, Ireland is one of China’s major trading partners in the European Union, and China is Ireland’s fourth largest trading partner, the fastest growing major market and the largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region.
Data shows that in the first 11 months of 2023, about 30% of Ireland’s infant formula and 23.2% of pork were exported to China. In 2022, Ireland’s food and beverage exports to China, including dairy products, meat, seafood, etc., reached 722 million euros, of which dairy products accounted for 62% of Ireland’s total exports to China for the whole year. China has become Ireland’s sixth largest food and beverage trade exporter. Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, McConalogue, said: “The Chinese market provides important opportunities for the Irish food industry, and there is a bright future for agricultural cooperation between the two countries.”
According to an announcement recently issued by the General Administration of Customs of China, from February 1, 2024, Irish breeding pigs that meet relevant quarantine and sanitary conditions will be allowed to be imported into the Chinese market. The International Trade Council believes that this is an important step for the two countries to further expand trade in agricultural and animal husbandry products and deepen agricultural cooperation.
Ireland is also one of the world’s major beef exporters. In 2018, Ireland’s beef was allowed to be exported to China, becoming the first EU country allowed to export beef to China. According to data released by the Irish Central Statistics Office recently, in 2023, Ireland exported a total of 19.7 million euros worth of beef to China. In order to further expand the Chinese market, the Irish Food Board and local beef exporters will hold Irish beef information seminars in Beijing in March and Shanghai in May this year, and participate in the Seattle International Food Exhibition held in Shanghai in May.
Jim O’Toole, CEO of the Irish Food Board, said that there is great potential for Irish beef exports to the Chinese market, and he looks forward to closer trade exchanges between the two countries. Martin Murray, executive director of the Irish think tank “Asia Matters”, said: “Strengthening economic and trade cooperation with China will help promote Ireland’s development and prosperity.”
As a local investment immigration company in Ireland, Zatino Group has excellent relations with various Irish government departments. We are committed to helping Chinese companies explore business opportunities in Ireland and promote trade cooperation between China and Ireland.