Liffey Meats in deal to supply Irish beef products to French retail outlets

THE Irish food industry celebrated a €12 million St Patrick’s Day boost at the Irish Embassy in Paris yesterday.

Liffey Meats signed a contract to supply Intermarché, the fourth-largest retail group in France, with a range of Irish steer beef products.

The contract, worth an estimated €5m in the initial year, follows extensive test marketing undertaken by Bord Bia over the last year and significant investment by Liffey Meats in new processing and packaging capability.

This is the first time that an identified Irish beef range, produced entirely in Ireland, is available to all outlets of a French retailer.

It was also revealed that a number of Irish food brands recently launched in the French market are making considerable progress supported by Bord Bia marketing development and promotional activity.

The Ile d’Erin Darfresh beef range, produced by Dawn Meats’ French based subsidiary Scagro Industrie,

Kerry Foods Ficello children’s dairy snack and Le Davoine, an Emmental-style grated cheese for the foodservice sector, produced by Tipperary Co-op French subsidiary Tippagral, are expected to be worth €7 million in business.

Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan, who attended the Liffey Meats’ contract signing, said it marked a new beginning for Irish beef in France and will help foster increasing trade and business relationships between the two countries. “The agreement is testament to the excellent product quality in terms of raw material and processing that Liffey Meats will supply to Intermarché’s customers,” she said.

Identified Irish beef has become available in French retail outlets since last autumn. Prior to that, virtually all beef sold in French supermarkets was French.

Intermarché, which holds over 13% of the French retail market, is the first group to offer Irish beef to its store network nationally.

Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter said meat and dairy products accounted for more than 75% of Irish food and drink exports to France in 2004.

Total Irish food and drink exports to France were worth an estimated €380 million last year and showed growth of almost 3%.