Plan to boost €8bn food exports

A PIONEERING graduate fellowship programme aimed at boosting Ireland’s €8.2 billion food and drink export sector was launched by Bord Bia in Dublin yesterday.

Twenty five experienced graduate fellows will be placed in 33 international markets where they will undertake 200 key assignments on behalf of 100 Irish food companies.

The €1 million marketing Fellowship programme will be run in association with the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School.

It will cover all food industry sectors from prepared consumer foods to meat, dairy, beverages, seafood and horticulture. ]

The markets involved will include Britain, Continental Europe, Russia, Asia and the United States.

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith said the programme is a highly innovative response to the exceptional challenges facing the food industry from the impact of the global economic downturn and the market dislocation caused by the depreciation in sterling.

“The programme will play an important role in helping Irish companies to diversify into new markets while seeking to protect existing export business that last year exceeded €8bn in value,” he said.

While the graduates will be based full-time in the marketplace, the programme will also incorporate six academic modules at the Smurfit School. Marketing assignments will be rigorously assessed.

The graduate fellows will be awarded a diploma in International Marketing Practice on completion after 12 months and will then have the option of completing a Masters degree.

Bord Bia chairman Dan Browne said this is an important and timely initiative which has been widely welcomed by industry as evidenced by the huge number of assignments submitted by Irish food companies.

“The graduate fellows will benefit from their direct engagement with exporters, the experience and oversight of Bord Bia’s network of international offices, and the rigour of academic supervision offered by the Smurfit Graduate Business School.

“The Irish food industry will benefit not just in terms of new business development opportunities but also, on completion, from the availability of a network of highly skilled and experienced marketing executives,” he said.