Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
893. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which the dairy sector continues to expand worldwide in terms of exports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39304/22]
View answerThe Irish dairy Industry is one of our largest and most profitable sectors. Irish dairy exports exceeded the €5 billion mark in 2021 for the third consecutive year, with exports to over 140 countries worldwide.
The Irish dairy industry is built on the family-farm tradition. The high quality of Irish milk produced on our family farms from sustainable grass-based production systems contributes enormously to the success of the industry. Our dairy farmers produce top quality produce across the country and their work and efforts keeps our towns, villages and rural areas vibrant, spreading employment and continuing with our great agricultural tradition.
As a result of the hard work of all dairy industry stakeholders over the last number of years, including our dairy farmers and their families, our milk processors, our regulators, our exporters and our marketeers; international customers across the globe recognise the quality of Irish dairy products. My Department along with Bord Bia will continue to engage intensively with the competent authorities and trade customers in other countries, to ensure that this effort is recognised so that as many markets as possible are available for Irish dairy products.
In 2021, there were strong market returns across the core categories of butter, cheese and powders, coupled with a diversified market spread, helped sustain a strong demand during the year.
Food Vision 2030 , the new ten-year strategy for the Irish agri-food sector, sets a vision for Ireland to become a world leader in sustainable food systems over the decade ahead, taking account of the economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainability. I subsequestly established the Food Vision Dairy Group to advance the specific actions for dairy set out in the strategy, and as a priority action to provide me with a report on how the dairy sector can stabilise and then reduce emissions. I look forward to receiving the Group's final report on this issue shortly.
