US resumes importation of UK beef after 24 years

British beef is back on US tables with shipment restarting on Wednesday after being banned beginning 1996 due to Mad Cow Disease infection.

Those from Northern Ireland's Foyle Food Group will be the first to be shipped.

UK beef was cleared for export in March after a US Food Safety Inspection Service audit on beef, pork, and lamb facilities in 2019.

Exports of pork to the US continue as usual, while lamb exports have yet to start.

The US beef market will be worth $85.3 million to the UK for over five years.

According to Dr. Phil Hadley, a director at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, the US represents an important potential market for UK's red meat exports and the first shipment is the result of the hard work and persistence of the UK beef industry and government.

The board called the resumption of exports to the US a "historic moment."

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss noted that the free trade deal the UK is negotiating with the US will open up a host of export opportunities for British agriculture and that the beef exportation is just the tip of the iceberg.