Bord Bia to outline Brexit initiatives at Anuga

Bord Bia will set out its range of new Brexit supports for Irish food exporters at Anuga, which takes place in Cologne, from October 7 to October 11.

The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Andrew Doyle, and the Chairman and CEO of Bord Bia will lead a record number of Irish food and drink companies to the world’s biggest food fair.

34 companies, 27 of whom will be exhibiting in the “Ireland – Origin Green“ pavilion, will be pushing for new business opportunities as they target buyers among the 160,000 trade visitors.

Before departing for Cologne, Minister Doyle said: “Anuga is a barometer for the performance of international food and drink markets and emerging consumer trends.

“The record number of Irish companies participating here demonstrates the determination of the food and drink industry to face the Brexit challenge and grow in new international markets.

The government is committed to achieving the industry targets in Foodwise 2025 and we have demonstrated this with the recent increased allocation of €6.7 million to Bord Bia.

“The scope and depth of the new Bord Bia initiatives will ensure exporters will be equipped with insight and knowledge to access the best markets,” he said.

New Initiatives

Bord Bia has completed a review of the effectiveness of the organisation and the readiness of the industry to meet the challenges of Brexit.

Meanwhile, its strategy remains the same; it is adapting its tactics to deal with the changing landscape and the impact of Brexit on individual sectors, food and drink categories and the needs of individual companies.

According to Bord Bia, getting companies into new markets is vital to the success of the new strategy – Anuga is strategically important in getting companies face to face with international buyers.

The CEO of Bord Bia Tara Mc Carthy said: “We are now entering the next phase in our push to secure new market prospects.

“Supporting our exporters to enter sustainable new markets requires: planning the route with them; developing individual export strategies; using insight to identify the best destinations for their particular products; along with providing knowledge on logistics.

Getting more ‘feet on the street’ to assist companies promote their products when they are in market is also vital.

“Origin Green has never been more important than today and continues to be key to our success in attracting business,” she concluded.

Irish companies

A record number of 34 Irish companies (27 in the Origin Green pavilions) from across the food and drink industry are attending Anuga this year, with an Irish presence in the Meat, Dairy, Chilled and Fresh, Frozen and Bakery halls.

This is a 70% increase in companies exhibiting, compared to the last visit in 2015. 46% of these companies are exhibiting for the first time.

Bord Bia Chairman Michael Carey claims: “The importance of Anuga as a venue for networking cannot be underestimated. The efforts of Bord Bia, both in Germany and globally, in targeting buyers plays a key role in the success of Ireland`s presence.”