Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the efforts he is making to support the export sector particularly the agri-food sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11994/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The agri-food sector is Ireland's largest indigenous, manufacturing sector and is crucial to sustaining and reinvigorating the economy. Strategies for the development of a consumer focused, competitive and sustainable agri-food sector capable of meeting the challenges of more liberalised markets and broader societal demands both at home and abroad are set out in the Agri-vision 2015 report and the Cawley Report. These strategies identify the delivery of safe, high quality, nutritious food, produced in a sustainable manner in high value markets as the optimum road for the future of the Irish food industry in the light of the changes which have already taken place or are anticipated over the next number of years and span the entire food chain from primary production through processing to market access which is key to developing export potential.

An inter-Departmental Market Access Group chaired by my Department and comprising representatives from the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, An Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Iascaigh Mhara is currently engaged in a co-ordinated effort to identify potential market opportunities for the full range of Irish food and beverages, prioritisation of market initiatives and broader access issues.

Bord Bia, under the aegis of my Department, is the state agency responsible for market development of food, drink and horticulture and closely monitors food exports. It recently published a Strategy to boost food exports for the period 2009-2011. The strategy comprises six key priorities to be addressed including enhancing the industry's position on its home market to capitalise on the potential for growth and expansion of exports with a particular emphasis on the Eurozone markets.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has established an Enterprise Stabilisation Fund, to be run by Enterprise Ireland, to allow for meaningful additional assistance to be provided to basically sound internationally traded companies that would otherwise struggle to survive the global downturn. The fund will operate in conjunction with the banks and will supply direct financial support to eligible, internationally trading enterprises which are undertaking development expenditure to reduce costs and gain sales in recession hit overseas markets. The fund will complement the banks' commitment to SMEs under the recapitalisation scheme and should facilitate much of the restructuring that is needed for viable companies selling on the home market.

During 2009 Bord Bia will implement a comprehensive set of promotional programmes and services, which have been developed in consultation with industry bearing in mind the impact of the sterling differential on competitiveness. These include:

Food Ingredients/Nutraceuticals (Europe), which will provide industry with detailed market requirements particularly for dairy ingredients.

Participation in Trade Fairs in Paris, Madrid, Portugal and Amsterdam, mentoring on supplying Continental supermarket groups and provision of market insights.

Private Label seminar (Scandinavia, Germany & Holland) with company specific mentoring and Private Label Manufacturers Association trade fair in Amsterdam.

In addition, the European Commission has accepted recommendation from my Department for EU co-funding of a 3 year promotion programme of quality beef and offal in China and Japan, which will commence later in the year.