December 5, 2013

In a trade deal worth an estimated of £10 million (US$16.4 million) a year, Singapore lifted its ban on beef exports from the UK.

After UK authorities announced the presence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in British cattle and confirmed a link with human variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (CJD), Singapore imposed the ban in 1996.

The ban was lifted following several visits to the UK by Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), which most recently inspected three UK plants and approved them for export.

The plants will be able to export deboned beef from cattle aged 30 months or less to the Singapore market immediately. Other UK beef producers would be able to trade with Singapore under similar terms once the Food Standards Agency (FSA) had confirmed they met the requirements set out under the trade agreement, according to UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

A DEFRA spokesperson said that this deal is fantastic news for the UK beef industry, allowing them to grow their businesses by exporting to a lucrative market.

"We are working on opening markets across the globe to UK-made food and drink. The food and drink industry is the biggest manufacturing sector we have, and increasing exports will be a major boost to our economic recovery," a DEFRA spokesperson added.