Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 April 2014
512. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagement of his Department with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and agencies such as Enterprise Ireland in assisting Irish food producers to commence or increase exporting, with a particular view to increasing the number of destination countries and thereby reduce dependancy on the British market. [16765/14]
View answerThe UK remains the largest export destination for Irish food and drink with 42% of exports worth an estimated €4.2 billion in 2013. Exports of food and drink to other EU markets increased by 11% in 2013 reaching €3.2 billion with the key markets of Germany, France and the Netherlands all recording double digit growth. Strong exports to Asia, and to a lesser extent Russia, contributed positively toward an increase of 6% in the value of trade to international markets, which exceeded €2.6 billion in the period. My Department works very closely with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia to assist Irish food producers to identify new markets and/or increase market share of existing markets.
Action Plan for Jobs
My Department liaises closely with the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in relation to the Action Plan for Jobs. The Action Plan for Jobs 2014 includes 29 headline actions to be undertaken by my Department and relevant agencies on:
- developing agri-food and marine SMEs;
- supporting sectors of high growth potential;
- improving Ireland’s agri-food sustainability performance; and
- reviewing agri-taxation measures to ensure maximum benefit to the sector.
Progress on implementation of these actions is monitored by the Food Harvest High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC). The HLIC, which I chair, consists of the senior officials of all state agencies involved in the agriculture, food and fisheries sector. In 2013 Irish food and drink exports reached €9.9bn and are on track to meet the Food Harvest 2020 target of €12bn by the end of this decade. The launch of the Bord Bia Sustainability Development Programme Origin Green in 2012 positions Ireland and the Irish food and drink industry as a world leader in sustainable food production.
Enterprise Ireland
My Department has an extensive and long-standing relationship with Enterprise Ireland (EI), which is focused on supporting the growth and development of the agrifood industry and the expansion of export opportunities. In order to export successfully, and meet the targets set out in Food Harvest 2020, the food industry’s capacity and capability to develop and deliver products and services in line with customer requirements are vital. This Department and Enterprise Ireland work together, sharing expertise, to support developments in a variety of areas. Contacts vary from formal participation across a range of committees which progress different policy areas to ongoing daily informal contacts.
Bord Bia
My Department also assists Irish food producers to commence or increase exporting through its engagement with Bord Bia – the State Body charged with the growth of success of Irish food and horticulture who act as a link between Irish food, drink and horticulture suppliers and existing and potential customers throughout the world. One of Bord Bia’s objectives is to strengthen and extend the ability of Irish food and drink companies, driven through market insight, to build profitable share in selected high-potential export markets. Seafood promotion on domestic and international markets is also now included in their brief.
In 2013, the Irish food and drink sector continued the strong export performance of recent years despite the ongoing competitive nature of most markets. The strongest performers were dairy, meat and livestock and prepared foods. Whiskey also continued to perform very strongly. Seafood saw a levelling off in exports following a rise of almost 65% over the 2009 to 2012 period.
