Minister Creed and Bord Bia targeting sustainable export opportunities at Seafood Expo Global

The Minister for Agriculture Food and the Marine Michael Creed TD and Bord Bia CEO Tara Mc Carthy are leading 23 Irish seafood exporters at this week`s Seafood Expo Global (SEG) trade fair in Brussels, focused on building on the 9% export growth of the sector in 2017.

Irish seafood exports reached a value of €614 million last year with almost 61% coming from EU markets and strong results in China and the Far East underpinning much of the international market performance

Speaking in advance of the SEG event Minister Creed said:

“The Irish seafood industry is building its reputation, size and product range with international food buyers here at SEG on the sustainable management of our fishing stocks, the environment and locality in which the seafood is processed.

The industry`s support for sustainability through the Department, Bord Bia and BIM programmes is paying dividends in attracting new business and ensuring the long term viability of the industry. This was very evident during the most recent EU quota negotiations which resulted in a total package worth €266 million for Irish fishermen for 2018, an important aspect of which was the emphasis on sustainability of stocks which saw a recovery the stocks of prawn, whitefish, cod and haddock following strategic conservation measures.”

Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy said SEG with more than 28,000 buyers, suppliers and seafood professionals is a key event for targeting new customers and deepening Ireland`s penetration in its established markets.

“Ireland is unsurpassed in our offering to food buyers who are increasingly looking for products that respond to their consumers` demands around sustainability and emerging food trends. Sustainability is becoming a central part of the business strategies of leading supermarkets, foodservice customers and manufacturers but for many their targets cannot be achieved without the help of their suppliers. The producers certified under Origin Green along with the market and consumer insight from Bord Bia`s Thinking House are enabling food buyers to respond to these consumer demands.

While our established EU markets are performing well accounting for 61% of our exports, international markets mainly in Africa, Asia and SE Asia are also playing a key role. Our recent Market Prioritisation Report has identified further opportunities such as demand for pelagic in China and Vietnam, live shellfish in South Korea and Vietnam and frozen shellfish in Japan. We will be targeting buyers from these markets and deepening our engagement with existing core customers over these three days and beyond.”

Strategic Objectives

Bord Bia has 3 strategic objectives for the development of the seafood sector at home and in overseas markets:

• To increase exports in the growing emerging markets for seafood
• To assist the industry to secure higher added value business in its core markets
• To build a vibrant home market for a range of underutilised fish species

These objectives are backed up by consumer and market insight, route to market support for companies, lead generation, promotions in markets, market study visits, inward buyer visits, all underpinned by Origin Green, Ireland`s sustainable food production programme.

The key Irish offerings during the three days of the show cover shellfish and crustacean species such as crab, mussels, prawns, scallop, oysters and lobster; pelagic species such as herring, mackerel, and horse mackerel; whitefish such as monk and pollock; and organic salmon.

The 23 Irish exhibitors on the Origin Green Ireland Pavilion are: