Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 April 2023
336. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he and his Department continue to promote Irish food products abroad to the maximum possible extent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18886/23]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, a key element of Food Vision 2030, the agrifood sector's ten-year strategic development plan, is to grow, promote and diversify our agrifood export profile abroad. Food Vision identifies a number of actions targeted at realising this growth ambition, including market diversification and market promotion activities.
These include my Department working with industry and Bord Bia to realise new opportunities in countries and regions with growing middle-class populations and rising disposable incomes. These markets are characterised by consumers who have a significant appetite for the high-quality, sustainable and safe dairy, meat, beverages and seafood produced by our farmers, fishers and processors.
A key component of my Department's efforts to promote Irish food products abroad is our Ministerial Trade Mission programme, which we undertake in conjunction with industry and Bord Bia. In 2022 we restarted in-person Trade Missions with visits to the United States, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as European promotional activities in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
In 2023, an intensive schedule of Ministerial led Trade Missions has commenced. In February, Minister Hackett successfully completed an Organics focused Trade Mission to Germany. Last week, Minister Heydon returned from China, where he supported a number of Irish exporters in promoting their high quality produce at one of China's largest trade fairs in Hainan, and held high-level executive meetings with key customers for Irish food in Shanghai. I will lead a second trade mission to China in May, including to the SIAL trade fair in Shanghai. This activity underlines the Government's commitment to what is the top opportunity market in Asia for Irish agrifood exports.
Later in the year, Trade Missions are planned to West Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, to South East Asia, Malaysia and the Philippines and to a number of key European markets including UK and France all of which are priority growth targets for our agrifood export sector.
