File photo: CGTN

GABORONE, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Botswana will export at least 10,000 tonnes of beef to China annually, the office of the president announced in its weekly newsletter on Thursday.

According to the newsletter, China has opened its market for Botswana beef and the first consignment will arrive by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Botswana's beef was banned over two decades ago due to animal health controls, particularly on contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Botswana's northwestern district of Ngamiland.

Chinese customs lifted the ban of Botswana beef and beef by-products from FMD free areas in February 2020, said the newsletter.

"This audit at the same time initiated the process of readmission of Botswana beef and beef products into China," it said.

Currently, Botswana produces at least 24,000 tonnes of beef a year through its meat-processing company, Botswana Meat Commission, 9,000 tonnes of which are exported to the European Union.

Botswana's basket of exports to China is mostly represented by diamonds, according to Botswana Investment and Trade Centre. Enditem