Michael Hussey, Dubai Office Manager, Emerging Markets – Bord Bia, Irish Food Board

The lifting of international sanctions in Iran presents significant opportunities for Irish dairy companies. Iran, with the second largest economy in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia, has an estimated nominal GDP of $397bn. It has the second largest population in the Middle East after Egypt, with around 80 million people; over 60% of the population are estimated to be less than 30 years old and are highly educated.

The country that has had to become self-reliant in the face of international sanctions over many years. However, Iran imported around $300 million worth of dairy products in 2014.

Dairy Imports

Butter imports accounted for 37,447 tonnes in 2015 and this is forecast to grow to 60,000 tonnes by 2020. This represents a significant opportunity for Irish dairy exporters. The below tables give the breakdown of imports by country into Iran in the years 2013 to 2015. As you can see New Zealand was by a wide margin the biggest supplier into the market with almost 60% market share. Ireland is a relatively small supplier of dairy imports, accounting for about 2.8% in 2015.

Bord Bia undertook a market exploration visit in 2015 which led to several Iranian dairy companies showing interest in meeting and doing business with Irish suppliers. In response, Bord Bia is organising a market visit from April 23rd to 26th next. The main focus of the visit will be to look for opportunities in the dairy sector.

For more information, please contact Michael.Hussey@bordbia.ie