Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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172. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which his Department has examined the potential to establish new markets for fish and fish products over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37974/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The export performance of the Irish seafood sector remained very strong in 2015, recording a value increase of 6% to reach over €570 million. Total seafood exports have increased in value terms by 53% since 2010.  Whilst our main EU markets (France, Spain, UK, Italy and Germany) continue to dominate our seafood exports (56% of total), our exports to international markets reached €187 million in 2015 (33% of total). 

Since 2010, our seafood sector, supported by Bord Bia, Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Enterprise Ireland, has focused much effort on developing business in the emerging seafood markets in Asia.  In 2010, exports to the four main Asian markets (China, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea) accounted for 3% by value of our seafood exports.  By 2015, that figure had reached 9%. 

Bord Bia plays a key role in assisting the Irish seafood sector in developing sales in a number of emerging seafood markets through its international office network.  Through the range of services provided to seafood clients in areas such as trade research, customer profiling, buyer-supplier contact events, in-store and online seafood promotions and trade awareness events, Bord Bia has been instrumental in assisting the Irish seafood sector establish a foothold in these markets in the past 5 years.  Bord Bia has recently completed a Pan Asian market attractiveness study to identify the top 5 ‘high potential’ markets for Irish seafood exporters (outside of China). Bord Bia will focus its trade and market development efforts on Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan in 2017.  This will be in addition to the China seafood development programme already in place.

My Department’s European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programme is supporting Bord Bia’s increased seafood promotion effort through €800,000 additional funding per year.  In addition, the EMFF Operational Programme is funding a suite of schemes implemented by Bord Iascaigh Mhara to support our seafood processing sector develop new value-added seafood products, put in place the capital investment to produce new and more seafood products, develop business and marketing strategies to take advantage of the export opportunities, and to work cooperatively with other seafood enterprises to develop marketing resources in potential export markets.