Vietnam has agreed to progress Ireland’s beef access application with an audit visit due to take place before the end of the year.
The announcement was made as Minister of State with special responsibility for new market development, Martin Heydon completed the Vietnam leg government’s agri-food trade mission in Asia.
Following a meeting between Minister Heydon and Vietnamese Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, it was confirmed that Vietnam will send an inspection team to Ireland in the coming months.
Welcoming the commitment, Minister Heydon said:
“Vietnam has been identified as a priority by my department in relation to new market access. This inspection visit represents major progress towards access to Vietnam for Irish beef.
“We also agreed to renew our existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will deepen our cooperation in a number of areas of mutual interest, particularly in the area of sustainable agriculture,” he said.
Vietnam has agreed a trade agreement with the EU since 2020 which will result in significant agricultural tariff reductions on member states’ agri-food exports.
As part of the trade mission Minister Heydon also opened an agri-tech conference in Hanoi organised by Enterprise Ireland, involving established Irish agri-tech companies and their Vietnamese counterparts.
Abbey Machinery, Combilift, Keenans and Celtic Sea Minerals, which are all establishing themselves in the region, addressed delegates at the event.
“Ireland is widely recognised for its quality and traceability of agri-food, and there is equal recognition in the technological capability of Irish companies operating in the agri-tech sector here in southeast Asia,” Kevin Ryan, ASEAN director of Enterprise Ireland, commented.
The 10-day trade mission to Japan, Singapore and Vietnam involved official from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and the Sustainable Food System Ireland.
“Japan and southeast Asia are very important marketplaces and the efforts of team Ireland during the trade mission have ensured that Irelands trade links and partnerships with the region will continue to thrive in the coming years,” Minister Heydon said.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue led the initial stages of the trade mission in Japan and Singapore.