Australia is looking to boost beef exports to China after the removal of trade restrictions on several major beef producers, as farmers hope to create a major cash cow from their prized cattle.

Last month, China dropped its ban on five of Australia's largest beef producers, and while restrictions remain on two other producers, the industry is hoping to capitalize on the increased access to the Chinese market.

The lifting of the ban is set to benefit cattle raisers such as industry veteran Sid Plant, who owns a 3,000-acre farm in Queensland and has been in the meat business for more than half a century.

"We're buying cattle, and we've got to do that as well and as cheaply as we can, and then we are growing them into one of a number of markets," he said.

Most of the beef Australia produces doesn't end up in the country's cities and rural areas for domestic consumption, with about 70 percent of the total produce being shipped overseas.

China was once the biggest export destination, according to Patrick Hutchinson, CEO of the Australian Meat Industry Council, who said that over 300,000 tons of Australian beef was exported to China back in 2019.

However, the amount dropped by up to 35 percent when China blocked exports from several of Australia's major beef producers in 2020, with the move having a ripple effect throughout the industry.

"We had calves that we'd bought for anything up to 7 dollars a kilo, and within a few months, it dropped 70 percent. And of course, those calves that we had are still in our system. By the time they came out, we were losing money on every one of them," said Plant.

The welcome removal of the restrictions has now given Australia's main beef producers the chance to regain favor with Chinese consumers.

"Overall, what it's done is it's given us an opportunity now that we could really hit our straps and provide that capacity that China needs," said Hutchinson.

Australian beef producers now view the Chinese market is seen as the perfect platform through which to improve their profitability and expand their business.

"We've got to have those markets at some sort of a situation that we make some money out of it," said Plant.

"With China, it allows you the opportunity to evolve your profitability and ensure that you can continue to keep being profitable - that means you can expand, that means you can invest and they're the key things that we are looking at now and into the future," said Hutchinson. -Report from Reuters