Lakeland wins trading award

LAKELAND Dairies has been chosen as the overall winner of the InterTradeIreland All Island Trade and Business Award for its efforts in establishing strong cross-border trade links and the subsequent growth that ensued.

The Cavan-based co-op operates across 15 counties, on a cross-border basis, processing over 700 million litres of milk annually.

It first purchased milk directly from farmers in counties Down, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone in the mid 1990s. From 2002 and 2004 it expanded through the acquisition of three major businesses in Omagh, Newtownards and Cavan.

Cross-border sales now account for 35% of Lakeland’s revenue and the company recently won a contract to supply cream to Diageo for the manufacture of Bailey’s Cream Liqueur in Belfast and Dublin.

Northern Ireland Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Barry Gardiner presented the award at a ceremony in Belfast, along with Barry Fitzsimons, vice-chairman of IntertradeIreland. The group was formed under the 1999 British-Irish Agreement Act to promote North-South trade.

Mr Fitzsimons said there are tremendous opportunities for cross-border trade and the awards are a platform to showcase that.

InterTradeIreland chief executive Liam Nellis said that this year’s record number of entries covered over 20 different sectors including design, food, publishing, architecture and law.

Shortlisted firms came from across the entire island.