Irish food and drink exports to China to grow 20% this year

IRISH food and drink exports to China are set to grow by almost 20% this year to more than €150 million, the Agricultural Science Association annual conference was told in Maynooth yesterday.

Bord Bia Asia manager in Shanghai, Breiffini Kennedy, told more than 200 agri-food industry delegates that China will play a vital role in the future growth of Ireland’s agri-food industry.

“This year’s big growth in Irish exports comes on top of a 12% growth in 2010,” he said. “Last year, Irish dairy exports to China exceeded €100m for the first time and our meat exports, primarily pork, grew by over 50%.