A batch of frozen mutton from Kazakhstan arrived in the city of Urumqi in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Wednesday, marking the first time China imported meat products from Kazakhstan, local customs announced on Thursday.

The frozen mutton, weighing 16.31 tonnes and worth 285,500 yuan (41,557 U.S. dollars), was transported into Urumqi through Horgos Port which borders with Kazakhstan, according to customs officers.

The meat enterprises in Kazakhstan are very optimistic about the Chinese market, said Zhu Ziyang, manager of a Xinjiang local company that handles the imports of the Kazakhstan frozen meat.

This batch of frozen mutton will be sold in the northwest Gansu Province, Zhu said.

According to customs, Kazakhstan offered to export beef and mutton to China in 2015. The Chinese government approved the proposal this year.