Mr. Bernard Condon:

This question arose in the context of the improving quality of Irish milk so I want first to acknowledge the fact it has improved greatly and is a very high quality product. On the flip side, I would say the standards that are being applied across the total production in Europe are of a reasonably high standard so, in general, when one is going into the ingredients markets, they look at European product as being homogenous. In other words, French production is seen as being the same as Irish or German production from a technical standard perspective, or that is the view the markets have. Therefore, we in the IDB have focused on the product attributes we can market and which are derived from grass-based production. We see those product attributes most in fat and in butter. The great thing about Irish butter, which we can compare to continental or American butter, is that it is softer and more spreadable than other butters, it has a lovely golden colour whereas other butters have a white colour, and it tastes lovely and creamy compared to other butters. What we have tried to do is brand that under the Kerrygold brand and extract a premium from the market for that. I believe this is where we have the leverage and where we have seen massive success. Over a third of the product we currently buy goes out under the Kerrygold brand and this generates a significant premium in the market. Our plan and our investments are aimed at increasing that proportion year-on-year.