Bernard J. Durkan
Ceist:180 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the number of new markets secured for Irish food and food products in recent times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28648/00]
Written Answers. - Irish Food Promotion.
Responsibility for the market development and promotion of Irish food and drink products on domestic and international markets rests with the statutory food promotion agency, Bord Bia. Working in partnership with my Department and the food industry, Bord Bia implements a range of programmes and activities tailored to enable Irish food products exploit new market opportunities and increase market share in existing markets. A measure of the success of the board's activities is the fact that in 1999 exports of food and drink products grew to £5.2 billion, with output exceeding the £10 billion mark.
Notwithstanding this success, as the pace of change in this increasingly competitive and consumer driven environment accelerates, Irish suppliers continue to face huge competitive challenges in areas of scale, innovation, product range and marketing capability. To meet these challenges, Bord Bia has undertaken a number of specific promotions to boost sales of Irish food products on international markets. These include a range of programmes targeted at retail development, food service and speciality foods in the UK and European markets. These programmes have been designed to identify new supply opportunities and increase the awareness and credibility of Ireland as a supplier to the retail sector.
Bord Bia is actively engaged in the market promotion and development of Irish beef, lamb and pigmeat on export markets. In Britain the new Irish beef mark has been carried on retail packs to promote and highlight the quality attributes of Irish beef. This year an intensive market development programme for Irish lamb was undertaken, focusing particularly on the domestic, French and Mediterranean markets. In the pigmeat market the focus has been on targeting key customers and new accounts in Germany, France and Italy. Future target markets for pigmeat are Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan.
Also in 2000 Bord Bia participated in 15 trade fairs. Participation in these trade fairs is geared towards enhancing the image of Ireland – The Food Island – and increasing awareness of Ireland as a quality food supplier. An international markets retail programme is also in operation to assist Irish food companies to exploit the potential for Irish ethnic food in the US and Canada.