The Malaysian part of the trade mission to Southeast Asia has concluded, with the delegation now moving to the Philippines.
Increasing the market share of Irish pigmeat and gaining access for duck meat have been the main topics of discussion during the visit.
Trade mission
Speaking at the final official event of the Malaysian part of the trade mission Minister of State Martin Heydon spoke about the positive engagement, fostering very strong ties.
He noted that this is Ireland second trade mission to Malaysia and fifth to Southeast Asia, which he says shows Ireland commitment to building and foster these relationships at a political level and also on a business level.
“This trade mission and this evenings event are important parts of out efforts to promote our high quality, safe and sustainably produced food products for Malaysian business and consumers.”
Also speaking at the event was Chan Foong Hin the deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Security for Malaysia.
He noted that both countries possess unique strengths and opportunities in the agricultural sector.
Foong Hin said that the agricultural commerce between our two countries has been encouraging.
“Promoting agricultural trade between Malaysia and Ireland, carry’s eminence potential for cultural exchange,” he said.
“Food connects people, like nothing else.
“By sharing our agricultural products, we can also share our cultures and traditions.”
The Philippines
The delegation, lead by Minister of State Martin Heydon, will be focusing on a number of markets including, beef, pigmeat and dairy.
Located in the Pacific Ocean near the equator, the Philippines is an archipelago of around 7,640 islands – about 2,000 of which are inhabited.
Total Irish food and drink exports to the Philippines were €150 million in 2022.
Currently the Philippines in the latest importer of Irish beef outside the European Union.
Last year, the Philippines purchased over 18,000t of Irish beef and beef offal valued at €50.4 million.
Primary beef exports rose 3% to €44 million and beef offal was valued at €6.4 million in 2022, up from €3.3 million.
Primary Irish beef exports to the Philippines have grown from €14 million in 2018, an increase of over 200% in five years.
Annual dairy consumption in the Philippines is three million tonnes with domestic dairy meeting less than 1% of dairy needs.
Per capita consumption is the second highest in Southeast Asia at 30kg (behind Singapore at 34kg). This leaves the Philippines highly reliant on dairy imports.
Irish dairy exports were valued at €72.5 million last year.
Pigmeat plays an important part in the Philippines diet and is the third most commonly enjoyed protein after seafood and poultry, with 13.3kg consumed per person annually.
The country imported over 406,000 metric tonnes of pigmeat in 2022.
Ireland exported over 14,000t of pigmeat worth €24 million to the Philippines in 2022. This is a 71.4% increase in value on 2021.