The Irish food and drink industry’s ambitions for growth and expansion moved a further step forward on Tuesday when over 520 food buyers from 28 countries across four continents, gathered at Dublin’s Convention Centre for Marketplace International 2012. The engagement is a major one-day business development event organised by the Irish food board, Bord Bia.
177 Irish food and drink companies met with targeted buyers during 4,500 pre-scheduled ‘speed-dating’ style meetings that took place throughout the day. The trade buyers, with a collective buying power in excess of €18 billion, represented some of the world’s key retail and foodservice operators including Sainsburys, Selfridges, Tesco, Asda, Carrefour, Delhaize (Belgium), Mercadona (Spain) and Alcampo (Spain). Marketplace International 2012 is the largest buyer event Bord Bia has ever staged. In addition to a strong representation of UK and European buyers, 14 representatives from leading Chinese retail and foodservice companies travelled to the event, while 17 buyers from the Middle East and 12 from Russia also attended. In 2011, Irish food and drink exports performed very strongly in international markets led by significant growth in dairy, meat and seafood. For the year, it is estimated that the value of exports outside of Europe grew by 20 per cent, or €350 million, to reach almost €2.2 billion.Opening the event, the Irish Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD said “Identifying and opening new exciting markets for Irish food, while positioning Ireland globally as an innovative and top quality producer with high standards is a key target for me as Minister. We need to build on our excellent food export results for 2011. Marketplace is about businesses making the connections they require in order to drive growth. We need companies to be ambitious for themselves and for the Irish food industry as a whole. The record €8.9 billion achieved in 2011 marks the resilience of the Irish food and drinks industry, its positivity and determination to supply buyers and consumers with the very best in quality and innovative products. I am delighted to see at first hand the truly international nature of Marketplace 2012 and welcome both buyers and suppliers to this event,” he added.Michael Carey, Chairman of Bord Bia, emphasised the Irish food industry’s readiness and capability to seek out new market opportunities and broaden their export reach. “This is an industry where world-class commitments to quality and food safety are routine; an industry which meets the needs of some of the most sophisticated consumers in the world on a daily basis; and an industry that has achieved double-digit growth in its exports over the last two years” said Mr. Carey. “Today marks the culmination of 12 months planning, preparation and training and that combined with our theme of ‘Ireland, Partners in Growth’ will leave our visiting buyers in no doubt that we are here to do business,” he concluded. (7 Feb)
© 2012 ESM: European Supermarket Magazine
