Feedlotters in Australia are pleased with a new EU quota which stipulates that 20,000 tonnes of Australian premium grain-fed beef will be accepted into EU annually without any import duties, Meat and Livestock Australia reported.

Stephen Kelly, from Nippon Meat Packers, says the standards required are very precise, but they can be met.

"Market access is the important issue here, albeit it'll be small in its initial stages, but it's an opportunity for an expansion of access to the EU market, which the Australian industry has been looking for many years," he added.