As Tirlán increases its capabilities for plant-based products, its CEO Jim Bergin has said that it is “interesting to see where it goes”.
Speaking to Agriland yesterday (Thursday, April 6), Bergin said that Tirlán is following the current trend of an increasing market for these products, but that it is difficult to see what direction that market will go in the long run.
“What we’re doing really is we’re following a trend at the moment. Our dairy team is able to take these oat-based products and sell them to our global customers in the same way we do our dairy technologies,” he commented.
“We will continue to build our capability in the plant-based space, but it will be interesting to see where it goes.
“We are the largest buyers and users of native grain. About 40% of our grains go into premium contracts, and that is rising and increasing as we go. So in our research and development centre, we have developed a capability to produce gluten-free oats and oat powders that are suitable for yoghurts, chocolates, and drinks,” Bergin said.
He drew attention to the fact that there is currently no consensus on what kind of future is in store for the plant-based dairy alternative sector.
“Many commentators say this is definitely a trend. Others would say, in some cases, it has topped out. For example, in meat alternatives, many of the businesses that started those operations are reducing them or exiting them,” the Tirlán CEO said.
“We’ll monitor that as we go. But we have a capability in that space and we’ll continue to provide offerings there.”
Bergin also pointed out that the plant-based sector is not free of an environmental impact.
“It’s very important to remind people that plant-based, as an alternative to dairy, doesn’t mean that there is not a carbon footprint. Plant-based has a carbon footprint as well,” he commented.
“The production of food has a carbon footprint, and it’s a question of relativity after that. But we are interested in the plant-based space, and we are developing technologies in that area,” Bergin added.
Bergin on environment
Addressing the increasing environmental restrictions on the dairy sector, Bergin commented: “What I get concerned with at times is that there are elements…that people can zone in on, and when they do that they don’t necessarily comment on what the indirect impacts are, or what the compensating factors can be.
“For example, if Ireland cuts production, there is an easy argument that we export 90% [of our agri-food], so if you cut a small bit, someone in west Africa isn’t going to have something to eat,” he added.
“Now that’s an argument straight away, because we don’t want malnutrition in the world.”
However, Bergin also dew attention to the economic factor here are home.
He said: “It’s very important to remember that the price of food in Ireland is set by the export price, not what we sell locally. So if there is a tightening of food supplies in the world, which is thinly traded, and prices increase here, that is one of the impacts of producing less food.
“So the people who say ‘produce less food’ or ‘have less cows’ need to understand that there is a knock-on effect here, and that’s an economic effect,” the Tirlán CEO commented.
“Our job at the moment is to develop the plans and set out the strategies to help our farmers to transition to a more sustainable model, and we are doing that intensively.
“We need the numbers to go in the right direction. So for example, water quality at the moment is not going in the right direction. We’re zoning in on doing something on that to prove that we can have rivers in high water quality, and at the same time have a vibrant agri-industry in Ireland,” Bergin added.