The Kuwaiti market has opened for Irish meat and meat products, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, has confirmed.

The minister welcomed the agreement – which has been reached with the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition of Kuwait – under which Irish beef, sheepmeat and poultry will be eligible for export to Kuwait.

In 2017, Irish agri-food exports to Kuwait amounted to €17.1 million – with dairy exports amounting to around 93% of the total.

Commenting on the announcement, he said: “This agreement follows on from bilateral negotiations between my department and Kuwait, with the ongoing assistance of the Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi – including our agricultural attache in the Gulf Region, who is based in the embassy.

“The opening of this new market is a reflection of the confidence held by the Kuwaiti authorities in the high standards of food safety and the rigorous controls in Ireland.

It marks another important step in the development of Ireland’s agri-food links with Kuwait and with the whole Gulf region.

Ireland previously hosted a discovery visit for Kuwaiti officials in March, which was led by Sustainable Food Systems Ireland – which helped to progress negotiations.

The market is being opened to beef, sheepmeat and poultry meat and meat products, according to this morning’s (Thursday, October 4) announcement.

The opening of the Kuwaiti market follows on from the announcement in July of this year that Ireland had gained access for the export of beef, sheepmeat and poultry to Qatar.

These new markets come under the market development theme of the Food Wise 2025 Strategy, the department explained.

Concluding, Minister Creed said: “Details on these new markets are being added to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s market access portal, which I launched in May and a trader notice will issue shortly.

“Growing and developing new markets, a key theme of the Food Wise strategy, is an important response to possible Brexit impacts on the sector.”