Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is why, if we are going for volume, we cannot compete with countries, such as Australia and the United States or countries in South America.

Bord Bia's strategy, and part of the purpose of the mission that the Minister is on in the US at present, is to move up the value chain at all times and select markets where we can aim higher so that there is such a return all the way down. One has to start by trying to get the highest possible quality product at the end of the line. Beef, through Lidl, which is opening a chain and hopes to have 100 stores open by the end of this year in the US, has been given premium-value brand approval in the US by the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA. That is really important. We are doing that in Germany also. It is important that through the forums, through Bord Bia's marketing and through engagement with all the stakeholders together in the one room, everybody understands that everybody needs to feel a piece of that if we are to continue to produce at that quality.

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