Twenty Irish food companies ranging from artisan cheesemakers to global meat exporters are participating at the world’s largest trade food fair in Cologne, Germany, this week. Bord Bia is organising and coordinating the Irish presence at Anuga, a biennial event which attracts more than 160,000 trade buyers from 187 countries. Germany represents Ireland’s fourth largest export market for food and drink, valued at €565 million in 2014. The best performing sectors are dairy, beef and prepared foods.
At Anuga, the Irish food and drink industry will participate under Bord Bia’s Origin Green stands within the Meat, Dairy, Frozen Food and Bakery halls. The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. Tom Hayes, T.D. will visit Anuga tomorrow (Monday 12th) to officially launch Ireland’s presence at the show. During his visit to Germany, Minister Hayes, accompanied by Bord Bia Chief Executive Aidan Cotter, will also meet with senior representatives from REAL Hypermarket, part of the Metro Group, the world’s fourth largest retailer with an annual turnover of €67 billion.
Speaking in advance of his visit, Minister Hayes welcomed the Irish industry’s strong presence at what is widely regarded as the most important trade event in the international food and drink calendar. “Anuga remains a crucial landmark on the food industry calendar and events such as this are fundamental to the industry’s drive in building exports. As a global showcase, attracting buyers from all over the world, Anuga offers a unique opportunity to meet and build relationships with new and existing buyers.”
Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive of Bord Bia, said it had undertaken a major pre-event trade marketing and awareness campaign to promote the Irish industry’s presence at the event, including targeting more than 1,000 key influential buyers to visit the Origin Green stand. "It is encouraging that Irish food and drink exporters continue to grow their business in an increasingly competitive European marketplace. Ireland’s main food and drink exports to Germany are dairy (Kerrygold), alcoholic beverages (Baileys, Tullamore Dew, Kilbeggan, Jameson) and meat. Kerrygold is the brand leader within the butter category, while Germany is also the largest continental market for Irish pigmeat."
In July, German President Joachim Gauck visited an Irish farm to gain an insight into Origin Green and sustainable farming in action. "The German market continues to offer significant growth potential for premium, sustainable products. It has a long history of environmentalism and interest in sustainability and Bord Bia's Origin Green sustainability programme is being very well received by key stakeholders in the German food industry."
Anuga 2015 runs from October 10th – 14th inclusive.
Irish Food and Drink Exports to Germany
| Sector | Jan to DEC 2014 | % Share |
|---|---|---|
| >Beef | >116,000,000 | >20 |
| >Beverages | >54,000,000 | >10 |
| >Dairy | >230,000,000 | >41 |
| >Pigmeat | >25,000,000 | >4 |
| >Poultry | >3,000,000 | >1 |
| >Prepared Foods | >92,000,000 | >16 |
| >Seafood | >22,000,000 | >4 |
| >Sheep | >22,000,000 | >3 |
| >Beef Offal | >3,000,000 | >0.8 |
| >Edible Horticulture | >1,000,000 | >0.2 |
| >Total: | >565,000,000 | >100.0 |
Exhibitors at ANUGA 2015
- Ashbourne Meats
- Dawn Farm Foods
- Dawn International
- Dawn Meats Group
- Dawn Pork & Bacon
- Irish Country Meats
- Kepak (AgraKepak)
- Kildare Chilling Co.
- Liffey Meats
- Ribworld (Callan Bacon Co Ltd)
- Rosderra Irish Meats Group Ltd
- Slaney Foods International
- Ornua
- Glanbia Consumer Foods
- Kerry Foods
- Green Isle
- Aran Ard Teoranta t/a Gallagher’s Bakery / Pure Bred Bakery
- ABP Food Group (Meat Hall 6.1; Stand A50 – B51)
- Foodbridge Limited (Meat Hall 6.1; Stand D14
- True Life Health Foods (Fine Food 10.2; Stand D11)
Meat Hall 6.1
Dairy Hall 10.1
Frozen Foods Hall 4.1
Bakery Food Hall 2.2
Exhibiting Independently: