Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 April 2018
14. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the value of agrifood exports to China; the expected growth in same following the opening of the Chinese market for Irish beef; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18307/18]
View answerMy officials continue to work towards opening and enhancing access to as many markets as possible. This is a key part of our response to the challenges and uncertainty posed by Brexit, and in line with the market development theme of the Food Wise 2025 strategy. A wide range of staff across my Department are involved in market access work which is co-ordinated by an internal High-Level Market Access Committee, chaired at Assistant Secretary General level.
Total Irish agri-food trade exports to China (including Hong Kong and Macao) were €974 million in 2017. China is now our third largest market overall for agri-food exports. Dairy exports reached €667 million and pigmeat exports were over €100 million in 2017. These were the two largest categories of food exported to China, and for both of these commodities China was Ireland's second largest destination market according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) trade data. China is also a growing market for seafood and other food and drink exports.
By gaining access to China, we have now opened a very significant beef market for Irish beef companies. However, I cannot comment on the expected growth or the precise value of exports. The role of the Government is to open up access to new markets, in line with our Foodwise 2025 strategy, and to maintain access to existing markets. It is now up to our beef companies to avail of this opportunity. I hope that they will follow the success that our exporters have already had in finding Chinese markets for dairy, pigmeat and seafood products.
On average Chinese beef consumption is now 4kg per person per year. That may be considered low when compared to average Irish consumption of 19kg of beef per capita per year, and compared to average consumption in other Asian markets such as Japan (almost 7kg) and South Korea (almost 10 kg). However, that just underlines the potential for further growth in consumer demand for beef, driven by increasing urbanisation, higher disposable incomes and health awareness.
Total beef imports to China were around 600,000 tonnes in 2016. That is more than Ireland’s total beef exports to all markets last year. I firmly believe that our beef industry can and will compete effectively in the Chinese market and I look forward to the opportunities that this access will bring.
