Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed will lead a Bord Bia trade mission to Asia from this Saturday and he is confident it will be a success. “One thing we can crack is access to the Chinese beef market,” he said at a Brexit talk last Friday. “Prior to my appointment, I would have looked at trade missions with a jaundiced eye. But these countries have a hierarchical structure and if you don’t at first move in the political circles, you won’t get access to the industry.
Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed will lead a Bord Bia trade mission to Asia from this Saturday and he is confident it will be a success. “One thing we can crack is access to the Chinese beef market,” he said at a Brexit talk last Friday.
“Prior to my appointment, I would have looked at trade missions with a jaundiced eye. But these countries have a hierarchical structure and if you don’t at first move in the political circles, you won’t get access to the industry.
“Market access, while it has always been important, is now into a more critical stage. If we are to lose market share [in the UK], we have to be looking at new markets that pay premium prices for what are premium products.”
Itinerary
The trip will take in visits to Vietnam, Chinese cities Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Singapore. Delegates from Irish food companies will attend a number of seminars and visit Sanyuan Food Company, a state-owned Chinese firm which was the sole supplier of dairy at the 2008 Olympics.
Former President Mary Robinson and Minister Andrew Doyle are involved in the mission, which will see the launch of a new Origin Green digital media campaign for China.
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Full coverage: Asia trade mission 2016
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