The new free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom is now one month old and some of Australia's biggest names in beef are starting to cash in. 

At a high-end restaurant in the Mayfair district of London this week, Gina Rinehart was celebrating the arrival of tariff-free beef from her cattle enterprises across Australia. 

Chief executive of the Rinehart-owned Hancock Agriculture and S.Kidman & Co., Adam Giles, said it was an exciting time for the industry.

"This [UK FTA] is a real benefit to us and I think it'll be a benefit to many producers," he said.

Hancock Agriculture previously had been exporting its high-value 2GR Wagyu products into the UK despite the tariffs, but said the new FTA provided access for its range of Kidman Santa Gertrudis products.

"The tariff has been restrictive for us to get our Kidman product into the UK, like many other producers in Australia," Mr Giles said. 

"But the hard work that was done to get that free trade agreement signed off and the tariff removal process, which will escalate over the next 10 years, has presented an opportunity for us to refine some of our Kidman cattle and get it into a box, rather than those over-the-hook sales, and get it into the UK market."

Mr Giles said companies that had previously exported beef to the UK were enjoying a type of "first-rights" access under the new FTA.

He said the Rinehart companies had no specific target in mind for the UK market.

"It's particularly important to us that we service Australian clients first," he said.

"If we can get 5 to 10 per cent of our product into there [the UK] that will be a pretty high-water mark and will be something that will certainly support our business moving forward."

JBS muscles into the UK further

Australia's largest meat and food processor, JBS Australia, has also delivered its first consignment of Australian beef under the new FTA.

It said the first consignment was "an assortment of JBS Aberdeen Black beef products including hindquarter and loin cuts" and it had a scheduled weekly program of shipping beef to the UK.

CEO Brent Eastwood said the company was looking forward to increasing its trade with the UK.

"We're delighted to continue serving our high-quality Australian beef to our UK customers following years of investment and consistent exports to this valued market," he said in a statement. 

Under the new trading agreement, the initial quota begins at 35,000 tonnes of Australian beef that can enter the UK tariff-free and will rise in equal instalments to 110,000 tonnes over 10 years.

In 2022, Australia exported 741 tonnes of beef and veal to the UK, making it Australia's 27th biggest export market.

In comparison, Australia's biggest customer was Japan, which took 214,000 tonnes.