Minister Creed uses Paris expo to reassure UK on Irish agri-food commitment
Mr Creed is due to meet UK retailers at the Salon International de l’Agroalimentaire (Sial) food fair in London this morning.
He will stress Ireland’s vital links to Britain, which imported €5.1bn in Irish food and drink products in 2015, more than two-fifths of the sector’s total global exports.
“I will give UK retailers a clear signal that we are not walking away from Britain,” Mr Creed told a news conference in Paris, yesterday.
“We are not letting go of any UK supermarket space that Irish companies have worked so hard to earn in recent years.
“The quest for new markets is very important to us, and it has taken on added urgency since the UK decision to leave the EU. Their vote also puts into perspective the efforts of Bord Bia and others,” he said.
Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter said Irish hopes to quadruple exports to Asia were boosted by Mr Creed’s successful trade mission to China last week.
Mr Creed said he is hopeful China will soon give regulatory approval to Irish beef imports.
Last Friday, he also confirmed Iran’s decision to reopen its market of 80mn consumers to Irish beef and sheepmeat.
Meanwhile, ABP Food Group has acquired a third production facility in Tykocin, eastern Poland, from Polish processor Sklodowsky.
The new plant will increase ABP’s production capacity in Poland to up to 250,000 cattle per year.
Last week, Mr Creed announced an extra €2m allocation to help Bord Bia develop overseas markets for Irish new agri-food exports.
He said the sum would be reviewed if needed, adding that the Brexit vote might yet impact on Irish ambitions to expand agri-food exports from €10.8bn to €19bn by 2025.
“We have to export 90% of the food we produce,” said Mr Creed.
“As a small island nation, we have finite resources, but with the efforts of our agencies like Bord Bia I believe we can continue to keep punching above our weight in global food markets.”
Noreen Lanigan of Bord Bia Paris said the record 28 Irish companies attending Sial this week have forged valuable links with numerous global buyers.
Despite recent protective French measures on product labelling and a highly visible ‘Made In France’ campaign, French consumption of Irish food products has remained stable this year.
She said France’s ‘fine dining’ sector is very receptive to the high quality of Ireland’s Angus and Hereford beef.
There is also high recognition in France of Ireland’s grass-based production methods, and of sustainability initiatives such as Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme.
The trade marketing manager of Dawn Meats, Sabrina King, said French, German, Polish, and Chinese buyers visiting the Dawn Meats stand reacted favourably to their lamb burgers, pulled pork burgers and other new ‘street food’ products.
“They are very interested in Irish produce, in our sustainability message,” she said. “They also like the convenience of our new street food. These are products I think would work very well in stores like Marks & Spencer.”
Meanwhile, Cork-born Christine O’Sullivan and her partner Chris Wilson are having great success with a bakery, café, and bakery wholesale business in Paris.
Launched three years ago in the chic Latin quarter, Broken Biscuits does a busy trade in scones, sausage rolls, and sandwiches along with traditional French patisserie fare.
“French people go nuts for ‘les scones’,” said Ms O’Sullivan from Ballinhassig.
“They don’t eat them with butter and jam, they just eat them as they are. They also really love our sausage rolls. In Ireland, we think of these things as everyday items but here they’re seen as very different.”
The pair run their café diner from Wednesday to Sunday. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they produce and deliver their daily fresh produce for Parisian cafés and restaurants.
Sial continues in Villepinte, northern Paris, until Thursday.
The five-day food expo will host 7,000 exhibitors, displaying 400,000 products from more than 100 countries worldwide.
In all, up to 160,000 retail and hospitality buyers will visit over the five days.
