November 29 (SeeNews) - Serbia's government said it has signed an agreement to launch beef exports to China.
Inspections in China have proved that Serbian beef meets all regulatory requirements of the Asian country, the government said in a statement.
The agreement was signed by energy minister Aleksandar Antic in the framework of the sixth Meeting of Heads of Government of China-Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) initiative, known as the 16+1 mechanism, held in Budapest, Hungary.
Serbia produced 77,000 tonnes of beef in 2016, the same volume as in 2015, according to data from the country's statistical office. Serbian exports of processed meat rose by 37.2% on the year in the first nine months of 2017, reaching 75.7 million euro ($89.6 million).
China's beef imports totalled $2.6 billion in 2016. China banned EU beef imports over mad cow disease 16 years ago, but earlier this year it announced intentions to lift its embargo on imports of French beef for animals under 30 months of age to meet the soaring demand for meat.
($ = 0.844761 euro)