Goodman's ABP seals deal to sell beef online in China

Beef

Larry Goodman's ABP Food Group has entered an agreement with Beijing Hopewise to sell Irish beef on a Chinese ecommerce website.

The website, JD.com, is one of the largest business-to-consumer online retailers in China by transaction volume and revenue.

In the first quarter of this year alone the site had over 300 million active users.

"This deal is a further tangible endorsement of the quality beef that Ireland and ABP continues to offer," said Mark Goodman, MD of ABP's international division.

"We look forward to building on our relationships in the Chinese market, and working closely with both the Department of Agriculture and Bord Bia to continue to grow the market share for Irish beef in China."

While almost unheard of in Ireland, the process of purchasing beef products online is one of the fastest growing trends in the Chinese market, ABP said.

The agreement will see ABP ship a range of premium beef cuts to the Hopewise processing facilities in Shanghai and Beijing. From here, the beef will be processed into consumer packs, for purchase for direct home delivery via the JD.com platform on their phones.

Earlier this year, ABP secured the first contract to supply beef to China since exports to the country were blocked following the BSE crisis.

ABP signed a €50m deal to supply Chinese restaurant chain Wowprime, which has more than 400 in China and Taiwan across 18 brands.

The company also extended its range of premium Irish Nature Organic steaks with YATA, a Hong Kong-based supermarket chain.

The group also exports Irish beef to the Philippines and Japan.