Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the organic food producing promotion initiatives planned for 2009; the estimated cost of these initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4905/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The main organic food promotion event this year will be National Organic Week, which will be held for the fifth year in a row this September. The National Organic Awards will take place in conjunction with National Organic Week.

Bord Bia, in collaboration with Bord Iascaigh Mhara, have invited a number of organic companies to exhibit at Biofach, the World Organic Trade Fair in Nuremberg later this month. This export driven initiative was one of the actions outlined in the Organic Marketing Plan 2006-2009. Biofach is the largest and most important trade event for organic food in the international calendar. The objective of this initiative is to increase the profile of indigenous Irish organic products on the international stage.

Bord Bia are also facilitating a number of non-exhibiting Irish food companies to attend this Trade Fair to show them at first hand the scale of the development of the organic sector worldwide. I would be hopeful that their attendance will encourage the development of a range of new innovative organic products. This in turn could lead to increases on the supply side in Ireland in line with my Department's Organic Farming Production Plan 2008-2012 launched last year.

The total cost to my Department of these initiatives will be in the region of €300,000.