Dutch veal to China

The VanDrie Group's subsidiary organisation, Ekro, was the first European veal abattoir to receive approval to export veal products to China. This is a breakthrough in the 17-year negotiation process on the export of Dutch veal to China. Initially, only boneless veal is allowed to cross the border.

With the visit of Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan to the Netherlands, this trade agreement was confirmed once again. The Chinese government had authorised the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) to carry out the last necessary inspection at one veal-producing company.

Henny Swinkels (Director Corporate Affairs) is very happy with the result: "In order to achieve this, a lot of hard work was done from all angles. The Dutch embassy and its agricultural attachés in China, the NVWA and the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) deserve much praise. I am also pleased with the help we received from the Central Organisation for the Meat Sector (COV). It is a wonderful result that could only be achieved through professional, joint efforts and close cooperation with the Chinese authorities.

In the week of 15 October, Ekro is shipping its first order of veal to China. Swinkels sees great potential for the Dutch quality product. The Netherlands has a good nutritional reputation in China. He indicates: "With our Safety Guard quality system, we provide unique guarantees for the Dutch veal products we supply, such as quality, tracking & tracing and food safety. Chinese consumers find those items to be very important. It is now up to us to familiarize the market with the product".