Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 January 2005
57 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will report on her recent visit to China and the meetings she had with political, business and industry representatives there; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1912/05]
View answerLast week I led a delegation of food and drink industry representatives to China as part of a wider trade mission led by the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, from 17 to 22 January 2005. I accompanied the Taoiseach at formal state functions, including a meeting with the Chinese Premier, Mr. Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao. I also held talks with the Chinese Vice-Minister of Agriculture and with the Minister for the Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, AQSIQ, which is responsible for imports into China.
In the course of my visit, I signed a pigmeat protocol with AQSIQ Minister Li Changjiang which will form the basis on which pigmeat products from Ireland will be exported to China. The protocol was signed in the presence of the Taoiseach and Premier Wen Jiaboa of the People's Republic of China in the Great Hall of the People following official talks held between Ireland and China. This formal agreement has been concluded after intensive negotiations and will provide a framework within which actual trade in pigmeat products could commence later in the year.
I raised the question of the lifting of the Chinese ban on beef products in my official discussions with both the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for AQSIQ. During these discussions I emphasised that the control and supervision of food safety is afforded the very highest status in Ireland and that the Government is committed to protecting the high quality of food production and the preservation of our status as a supplier of the highest quality products to international buyers.
I also addressed seminars in Beijing and Shanghai organised by my Department and Bord Bia. These seminars were aimed at promoting Irish food and drinks the in the Chinese market, providing assurance on the safety controls related to food production and details on the country's export capability. The seminars also provided an opportunity for the Department, Bord Bia and industry representatives to directly engage with ministry and regulatory officials and Chinese importers and traders. While there I also met representatives of BIM and their Chinese contacts to promote and develop further opportunities for the export of fish products to China.
The trade mission included some 25 representatives of Irish food and drinks companies and I am confident that contacts established with Chinese trading companies during the visit will build on the good relations between the two States. China is a major market with enormous potential which could be hugely beneficial to Ireland in the food and drinks sectors. I am confident that the mission has laid grounds for maximising this potential and it will form the basis for further contacts at official and industry level and lead in the future to increased trade between Ireland and China.
