Declan Fennell - Sector Manager - Sheepmeat - Bord Bia - Irish Food Board
Identifying and developing export markets for Irish beef, lamb and pork is vastly important to maintaining and growing the overall sector. Securing EU co-funding support to drive our export reach has played a vital role in the Irish meat industry.
Ireland is successfully tapping into EU funding for the promotion of meat in our priority markets at a time when diversification is key to future growth. Under the slogan “Enjoy, it’s from Europe” the European Commission invite member states to apply for EU co-funding for programmes to promote European Agricultural throughout the world and within the EU. Ireland, along with other EU countries have pitched for these contracts in recent years through open competition and we have been successful on three occasions in winning funding of over €14 million since 2017.
So why do we pitch for these contracts, using Irish resources to co-fund campaigns aimed at increasing the consumption of EU meat?
The answer is simple – winning the contract puts Ireland centre stage in showing the best of EU meat production and it gives one of the smallest countries in Europe an opportunity to build a profile of Irish food. Managing these “Enjoy it’s from Europe” allows us to tell Ireland`s unique food production story within the framework of the highest EU standards of safety and sustainability. We introduce international buyers to our geographic location, our climate for grass growing, our sustainable food production systems and our Origin Green programme.
Ireland has been successful over the past three years winning the competition to run the €3.75m “European Beef and Lamb: Excellence in Food Safety and Sustainability in China, Japan and Hong Kong (2017-2019). Earlier this year Bord Bia commenced a €3.95m “European Pork and Beef: Excellence in Quality & Production Standards: 2019-2021” which is aimed at South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Trade Mission
The importance of Asia as a priority region for the Irish meat industry is highlighted by the fact that Minister Creed has lead a number of trade missions to the region in recent weeks. Last month a trade delegation visited a number of tier one cities in China whilst Minister Creed concluded a successful week long trade mission to Japan and South Korea this week.
Thanks to EU co-funding support, initiatives such as trade show participation, study visits, technical seminars and an online presence through social media channels as enabled Irish beef, pork and lamb to be front of mind within these important Asian markets.