David Andrews
Ceist:82 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and Mexico. [16573/95]
Written Answers. - Trade Development.
Total trade with Mexico in 1994 amounted to almost £70 million which is down considerably from the peak of £93.2 million in 1992. The balance of trade is very much in Ireland's favour with exports of £61.7 million and imports of £8.2 million in 1994. Exports to Mexico grew very rapidly in the late 1980s and early 1990s as Mexico underwent rapid economic growth accompanied by major economic reforms and market opening as a prelude to joining the North American Free Trade Area, NAFTA, in January 1994. An economic slowdown and a monetary crisis later that year undoubtedly had an adverse effect on trade and contributed to the decline in Irish exports in 1994. However, the provisional CSO figures for the first half of this year look encouraging and I am hopeful that trade will continue to recover through the rest of the year.
Over the past three years An Bord Tráchtála has taken three trade missions to Mexico, one led by the former Taoiseach and one led by the former Minister for Tourism and Trade. An Bord Tráchtála is confident that the underlying factors which made Mexico a growth market remain in place and that there is every reason to expect that Mexico will continue to be a significant market for Irish exporters in the future.
David Andrews
Ceist:83 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and Slovakia. [16574/95]
With a population of approximately 5.3 million, Slovakia is a substantially smaller market than its former partner in the old Czechoslovakia and this is reflected in the level of trade which in 1994 came to a total of £4.8 million, of which exports accounted for £2.3 million and imports almost £2.5 million. An Bord Tráchtála has an office in Prague which deals with the ongoing needs of Irish exporters to Slovakia.
A number of Irish consultancy companies are doing business in Slovakia under multilateral technical assistance programmes. These companies cover a range of sectors including energy, agriculture and communications. An Bord Tráchtála and my Department will continue to monitor developments in this area so as to ensure that Irish companies will continue to benefit from the opportunities offered by these programmes.
David Andrews
Ceist:84 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and Poland. [16575/95]
Ireland's total trade with Poland has grown from £79 million in 1990 to £95 million in 1994. In that period exports have grown from £24 million to almost £42 million, and the balance in Poland's favour has continued to narrow. The latest available provisional CSO figures for January to March 1995 show exports at £21 million and imports at £10 million.
Poland remains one of the most attractive markets in Central Europe for Irish companies, and ABT's Warsaw office is one of the busiest in the area. Reflecting the interest in the market a group of 12 companies in the environmental sector will be visiting Poland later this month to examine possibilities for the supply of goods and services.
Irish consultancy companies doing business in Poland have enjoyed considerable success in securing contracts under multilateral technical assistance programmes. These consultancy companies cover a wide range of sectors including financial, health, agriculture, food, training and communications. An Bord Tráchtála and my Department will continue to monitor developments in this area so as to ensure that Irish companies will continue to benefit from the opportunities offered by these programmes.
David Andrews
Ceist:85 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and Egypt. [16576/95]
Ireland's total trade with Egypt has grown from £36 million in 1990 to £147 million in 1994. Irish exports to Egypt have grown from £34.4 million to £143.1 million in the same period. Most of the growth is due to increased exports of cattle and beef.
The Middle East peace process holds out the prospect for increased trade and economic activity throughout the region from which Egypt should benefit in due course. Closer economic ties between Egypt and the EU should also enhance the prospects for our bilateral trade. An Bord Tráchtála has arranged the participation of a number of Irish small and medium enterprises in the EU-sponsored "Medpartenariats" in Cairo in 1994 and again in Israel last October, which provided those companies with the opportunity of meeting up with prospective business partners from the region. An Bord Tráchtála will keep the market under review and, as with other markets, companies will be assisted as the need arises.
David Andrews
Ceist:86 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and Vietnam. [16577/95]
Vietnam is undergoing rapid economic development as it moves towards open trading economy status. Its commitment to this process has been underlined by its application to join the World Trade Organisation and by its admission earlier this year to the ASEAN group of nations. Ireland's trade with Vietnam has grown from practically zero five years ago to £11.1 million in 1994. In 1994 we imported £9.27 million, mainly footwear, and exported £1.84 million. As I indicated in my reply of 10 May 1995, the Government will continue to support closer economic and trade links between the EU and Vietnam.
An Bord Tráchtála has undertaken some exploratory research in the market and this has identified a number of areas of opportunity for Irish companies, particularly in the services sector for aviation, electricity, educational, training and tourism consultancy, and for exporters of dairy and pharmaceutical products. An Bord Tráchtála will continue to pay close attention to this market, having particular regard to the internationally-funded development sector.
David Andrews
Ceist:87 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and China. [16578/95]
Ireland's total trade with China has grown from £55 million in 1990 to £227 million in 1994 while Irish exports have grown from £4.4 million to £22.2 million over the same period. I am particularly anxious that there should be a better balance in our trade with China and I made my views on this matter known to China's Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, Madame Wu Yi, when she visited Ireland in April of this year. Minister Wu Yi's response was encouraging and I am hopeful that Irish exporters will make good progress in China as its economy continues to grow, particularly in the special economic regions Guangzhou and Shanghai where significant opportunities have arisen as a result of the massive foreign investment pouring into these region, and China becomes more integrated into the world trading system. Ireland, together with our EU partners, supports its accession to the World Trade Organisation as the appropriate entry conditions are met.
An Bord Tráchtála sees good opportunities in sectors such as aviation, where Irish companies already enjoy considerable success, consultancy and training and construction, power generation, telecommunications and electronics. The board will continue to develop programmes to help Irish companies in entering the Chinese market, and there have been several trade missions, ministerial and official visits in both directions in recent years.
A number of joint ventures involving Irish companies are in development, and these should establish a good foothold for Irish business in China in due course. In this context it may be of interest to point out that following Minister Wu Yi's visit my Department has begun discussions with the Chinese authorities on a bilateral investment protection agreement.
David Andrews
Ceist:88 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and South Korea. [16579/95]
Ireland's total trade with South Korea has grown rapidly from £76.6 million in 1990 to £167.8 million in 1994. Korea has traditionally enjoyed a large surplus with us, but this has been steadily eroded as our exports have grown from £27.7 million in 1990 to £83.2 million in 1994. The CSO's provisional figures for 1995 show that the strong growth in exports is continuing, having reached a value of £63.4 million by the end of July.
An Bord Tráchtála sees the South Korean market as having considerable potential for Irish exporters and ABT's representative in Seoul operates from the Irish Embassy in support of the activities of Irish companies in that market.
David Andrews
Ceist:89 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the efforts, if any, that are being made by his Department to develop trade between Ireland and India. [16580/95]
Ireland's total trade with India has grown from £30.5 million in 1990 to £53.5 million in 1994 and exports have grown from £7.6 million to £17.4 million over the same period. Since embarking on a policy of moving away from traditional self-sufficiency and protectionist trade policies to a more open and trade-oriented economy, India has enjoyed significant economic growth and rapidly increasing foreign trade.
The opening of the Indian economy should lead to many opportunities for Irish trade and business involvement and there is already keen interest in the market among Irish exporters. An Bord Tráchtála organised a trade mission to India in late 1993 to coincide with the President's visit, and later this month I will be leading a major trade mission to India involving 24 companies from a wide range of sectors to take early and full advantage of the new situation and boost our exports to this important emerging market.