Kathleen Lynch
Ceist:23 Ms Lynch asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he and his Department have plans to promote the adding of value to liquid milk; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9172/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 24 March 2004
Ceisteanna (24)
Freagraí scríofa
It is generally accepted that the Irish dairy industry must continue to reduce its reliance on commodity products and develop a greater range of added value products. This will be an ongoing requirement if the industry is to offer the necessary returns to milk producers in the years ahead as they face an environment of reduced EU support prices and greater competitive pressures in the international market, notwithstanding the availability of direct payments.
The need for greater investment in research and development of added value products was a key recommendation of the recently published Prospectus report, which I commissioned along with Enterprise Ireland and the dairy industry, in order to identify the most appropriate strategies for the industry in the coming years. It is clear that while much has been done in this regard, there is considerable potential for increased value added in the dairy sector. The fact that we can freely trade in a soon to be enlarged EU of approximately 450 million consumers can only be of benefit to Ireland's dairy sector, given its extremely high export dependency. An essential element in exploiting this opportunity is the need to produce the type of products required by the market.
While the development of added value products is ultimately a matter for the industry, it is my policy and that of the Government to provide whatever encouragement is possible to bring this about. The availability of top class research facilities in both Teagasc and in the universities provides the type of infrastructure necessary to facilitate this development. This is underpinned by a grant aid programme, known as the food institutional research measure, operated by my Department. At company level, Enterprise Ireland also operates a programme of grant aid for suitable projects in the areas of R& D and value added initiatives.
At producer level, there is potential to increase the protein content of milk and, thus, increase the value of it to both the producer and the industry generally. Unlike fat content, there is no limit on protein content under EU quota rules and so any increase beyond Irelands relatively low level compared to EU average can only be of benefit.