The UK cereals industry is one step closer to gaining access to one of the world's largest barley markets following an inspection visit organised by AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds.

In the first fortnight of June, the AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Exports team (BCE) hosted four Chinese government inspectors on a tour of the UK cereals supply chain, as part of a five-year project to remove trade barriers to the country's 6 million tonne barley import requirement.

The visit, which is being hailed a success by those involved, could mean the UK will be able to export barley to China in future seasons.

Currently, UK barley cannot be exported to China as a "protocol" is not in place, unlike just six other countries worldwide - Denmark, France, Argentina, Australia, Canada and Ukraine. AHDB Cereals and oilseeds has led the initiative to gain the necessary protocol under its remit of accessing markets and removing barriers to trade.

Exports (BCE) Manager Sarah Mann said: "This is a significant achievement representing five years of work and a huge collaborative effort from across the sector.

"We're not quite at the finish line but this is an important step in the process, showing that China and the UK have reached an understanding about how to proceed on what could be a lucrative opportunity for grain exporters."

A key part of the process was demonstrating to inspectors that the UK barley supply chain is governed by a competent authority and export cargoes would be free from pests, diseases and weeds.

Having passed the first stage of the risk assessment by providing information on UK production systems and supply chain processes to AQSIQ (General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, People's Republic of China), AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds hosted the June visit for inspectors to audit UK processes and demonstrate that the measures in place are adequate for Chinese requirements.

Farm and trade assurance schemes were used to show how processes relate back to legislation and how hygiene controls are enforced across the barley supply chain.

The Chinese were pleased with what they saw and commented that UK systems are well managed. They also recognised that assurance schemes played an important role in ensuring the quality and safety of grains in the UK.

The inspectors will now submit a written report to be considered by AQSIQ, which will determine the terms of the protocol. The protocol could be in place within months, or may take much longer, depending on the complexity of negotiations.

Growing Chinese demand for all kinds of food underlines the huge potential of EU agriculture and agri-food sectors to boost growth and jobs in the EU.

Speaking at a high-level conference in Dublin last week, Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said: "The EU agriculture and agri-food sectors account for 40m jobs and therefore play a crucial role in helping the EU to achieve the objectives of the 2020 Strategy and to maintain growth in EU rural areas.

"With food demand set to rise by 60 per cent by 2050, it's vital to step up investment in the sector so the sector can meet its potential. Figures released only recently by the EU Commission show that EU agriculture production has the potential to rise by 2024 by 15m tonnes (mt) in the grain sector, 1mt in the poultry and pig-meat sectors, and 12mt for milk - and we need to make this happen. Moreover, EU agri-food products make up 30 per cent of the EU total trade balance, representing a surplus of 18bn Euros annually."

Mr Pesonen said that not enough young people are entering the industry and pointed out that returns on investments can take 15 years to emerge.

Outlining some of the investment needs Copa-Cogeca - which represents Europe's farming unions and co-operatives - has identified for Europe's agriculture and agri-food industry Mr Pesonen said: "In the EU grain sector, investments need to be made to improve the transport and storage capacity for grain in the EU. This would maximize trade and ensure EU livestock producers have better access to feed.

"This type of investment would also help support the accomplishment of the Single Market in the Eastern and Landlocked countries. The Danish pig-meat sector has also suffered a loss of competitiveness recently due to high production costs and investment measures could help here," he added.

Mr Pesonen concluded by stressing: "Europe must act now to provide solutions to develop a coherent investment policy."