The UK’s new chief veterinary officer (CVO), Christine Middlemiss, who joined the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in December last year, will get first-hand insight into the Chinese import market when she joins AHDB at the event.
CIMIE attracts a range of exhibitors from 40 countries, as well as more than 300,000 visitors every year. The event allows meat professionals worldwide to discuss a range of issues, including meat products, machinery and equipment, scientific and technological achievements and the latest meat processing technology.
AHDB said it would be at the three-day event in Beijing, hosting a number of approved pork exporters from the UK and facilitating meetings with key stakeholders in the supply chain.
“CIMIE is an important show for our pork exporters as it provides the perfect platform to meet with key importers and significant stakeholders in the Chinese supply chain,” said AHDB head of Asia-Pacific Jonathan Eckley.
“The show also presented the ideal opportunity to introduce the UK’s new CVO to the Chinese import market. During her visit she will also be meeting with key government partners in this growing marketplace, which shipped £69 million-worth of pork in 2017.”
Following CIMIE, Middlemiss will join AHDB on a visit to Japan, where there has been ongoing work between Defra, AHDB, Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) and government organisations to gain approval of beef and sheep meat exports to the country.
She will also attend a two-day visit to Taiwan to meet with officials, following news last month that pork from the UK will be exported to the country for the first time in a deal worth an estimated £50m over the next five years.
Middlemiss said: “These visits provide an excellent opportunity to see first-hand these valuable markets which are helping to grow our meat exports. A great deal of work has been done to gain access to China, Taiwan and Japan, and I am very grateful to the AHDB for inviting me on this informative tour around Asia.”