The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that an upcoming trade mission to Southeast Asia represents a “critical opportunity” to promote and support Irish agri-food produce.
The minister was speaking ahead of the trip which will begin this week, and will see Minister McConalogue travel to Japan and Singapore.
Following this, Minister of State Martin Heydon, who has special responsibility for new market development, will lead the second leg to Vietnam.
This will represent the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s (DAFM) third visit to Japan since 2017. Since the initial visit, market access for Irish beef and sheepmeat exports has been developed.
Minister McConalogue will also attend the Food and Hotel Asia (FHA) trade show in Singapore alongside Bord Bia CEO Michael Murphy. Ten Irish companies will be participating in the show, which is the largest event of its kind in the region, and is set to attract more than 80,000 visitors.
Speaking ahead of the trade mission, Minister McConalogue said the high-quality safety and sustainability of Irish food and drink products will be highlighted across the premium markets in Southeast Asia. He said:
“This trade mission will strengthen and build ties between Ireland and the region in relation to agri-food trade.
“It will raise awareness of Ireland’s sustainable food production systems and our commitment to supporting business-to-business relationships which can make a real difference to Irish food and drink exporters.”
The minister also stated that as well as building on existing relationships, his “key focus” will be identifying new opportunities.
“Developing new markets that will grow our world-class food sector in order to deliver stronger returns to the farm families of Ireland who are the bedrock of our industry,” he added.
Bord Bia’s recently launched three-year regional strategy has outlined a target of €800 million in Irish food and drink exports to Southeast Asia by 2025. Exploring pathways to achieving this will be a particular focus in over the course of the trade mission, the DAFM said in a statement.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that in 2021 alone, total Irish agri-food exports to Japan were just shy of €180 million, which represented a 20% increase on the previous year.
Last year, dairy exports to the country totalled €66 million, pigmeat totalled €50 million while beef exports were valued at €28 million.