The Dutch meat buyers gained a deeper understanding of the investment by Irish beef farmers, processors and Government to ensure that Irish beef not only tastes great but meets the highest animal welfare standards. The Horecava event focuses especially on the foodservice sector, attracting over 63,000 visitors and covering 50,000 square metres.

Premium Irish beef, including Hereford Prime and Organic, featured prominently at the De Kweker stand, a premium cash and carry and committed customer of Irish beef.

Last year, exports of Irish beef to the Netherlands increased by 9% to approximately 45,000t, valued at €200m. Intensive promotion by Bord Bia certainly contributed to this strong performance. Several successful campaigns were conducted, including promotion at Christmas, in autumn for stewing cuts of Irish beef and during the summer barbecue season.

There was also a lot of positive publicity generated by the Dutch chapter of Bord Bia’s Chefs’ Irish Beef Club, several Irish beef masterclass events and online activity through the “Bord Bia and seven Irish meat companies targeted international meat buyers, decision-makers and chefs at the biennial SIRHA foodservice trade fair this week in Lyon, the culinary capital of France. The event, which took place over five days, attracted in excess of 200,000 visitors including 19,000 international chefs.

Bord Bia, along with the Irish exporters, exhibited with the aim of increasing Ireland’s share of the premium foodservice sector. Ireland is already the preferred import supplier of beef for many of France’s high-end restaurants. This is particularly significant as France is one of the largest “out of home” food consumption markets in Europe, valued at over €80bn.

Bord Bia highlighted the sustainable production values of Irish beef through its Quality Assurance and Origin Green programmes. Chefs’ Irish Beef Club members also played a key role at SIRHA by endorsing the quality of Irish beef among some 19,000 international chefs attending the event. The Irish exhibitors included ABP, Irish Country Meats, John Stone, Kildare Chilling Company, Liffey Meats, Slaney Foods and the Traditional Meat Company.

Speaking at SIRHA, Noreen Lanigan, Bord Bia manager for France, said: “In the French meat sector, two thirds of all meat sold in foodservice is imported and Ireland is positioned as the leading supplier. This year, Bord Bia is partnering with Gault et Millau, one of the leading restaurant guide books in France, to promote Irish beef and lamb to over 900 high-end French chefs in six different regions.”

Bord Bia recently held its annual seminar with livestock exporters, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and other key stakeholders in this sector.

For 2016, live cattle exports declined by 18% and totalled just 145,500 head. The Northern Irish, Dutch and Italian markets recorded reductions of 55%, 38% and 24%, respectively. More positively, exports to Spain increased by 26%. Turkey was opened for Irish exports, and almost 20,000 weanling bulls were exported there over the final quarter of the year.

With the calving season soon approaching, the export trade is focusing keenly on markets for Irish calves. Over the last three years, the Irish dairy herd has grown by more than 200,000 head to over 1.4m cows.

The majority of Irish calf shipments comprise male Holstein-Friesians aged between 15 and 35 days.

The younger, lighter calves are usually exported to the Netherlands for veal production, whereas the slightly older, stronger ones typically go to Spain for finishing as young bulls. Trade to both of these markets is supported by Bord Bia promotional activity.

The meeting also included a presentation by Billel Haddad, focusing on opportunities for Irish exports to the Middle East and North Africa. Haddad, who is based in Spain, noted that Spanish live exports increased by 55% last year, with Libya, Lebanon, Algeria and Egypt as the key destinations. The majority of these shipments related to finished bulls for beef production.

Bord Bia maximised the recent visit of Taoiseach Enda Kenny to Spain to raise the profile of Irish meat and livestock with key Spanish buyers. The Taoiseach visited Madrid as part of his intensive engagement with EU partners around Brexit and Bord Bia seized the opportunity to introduce him to senior representatives of leading retailers Carrefour and El Corte Inglés, two of Ireland’s main customers in Spain.

The Taoiseach also met Javier López, managing director of Asoprovac, the national association of cattle finishers, during a reception hosted by the Ambassador of Ireland to Spain, David Cooney.

The Taoiseach thanked the invited guests for their support of Irish food and emphasised the importance of the Spanish market which was valued at over €245m in 2016, a 16% increase on the previous year driven by beef, dairy, beverages and seafood exports. He also highlighted the progress in live exports which grew by 26% last year to reach 27,000 head.

Over 200 food and drink producers attended Bord Bia’s small business open day last Tuesday (24 January) in Enfield, Co Meath. Bord Bia is now working with more than 700 small food and drink businesses, which represents a 40% increase in the last four years. Bord Bia estimates that this sector is worth over €400m annually.

Bord Bia presented new research into consumer attitudes to local food. The study revealed that two thirds of Irish shoppers believe it is important purchase local food.

Speaking about the findings, Mary Morrissey, Bord Bia’s food and beverage manager, said: “It is encouraging to hear consumers saying they buy local food products at least once a week and that one third are purchasing more today than they did a year ago. Local food continues to be about people, place and small scale. Consumers want to connect with the story of the producer.”