Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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65. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on his recent visit to China; and the outcomes for the Irish agrifood sector arising from this visit. [23621/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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From 13-18 May 2018 I led a large delegation of Irish food industry representatives on a trade mission to China and Hong Kong. As well as by official from my Department, I was accompanied throughout the trip by Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and senior executives from our leading companies in the beef, pigmeat, dairy and seafood sectors.

By way of background, Ireland’s agri-food exports to China have increased roughly five-fold from around €200 million in 2010 to nearly €1 billion last year. China is now Ireland’s third largest market overall. Dairy exports to China reached €667 million in 2017, and pigmeat exports have increased from €37 million to €100.3 million between 2012 and 2017. China is also a growing market for seafood and other food and drink exports.

This growth is, of course, very welcome. But the partnership between Ireland and China goes far beyond a transactional trading arrangement. This is about cooperation at multiple levels. Political visits in both directions at the very highest level, technical engagement between officials providing assurance on food safety standards, and a programme of internships in my Department for Chinese veterinary officials have all played an important part in building trust and developing key relationships.

This mission was an opportunity to strengthen and develop those relationships. It is imperative that we continue raising the profile of Ireland as a source of quality food and beverages, and expand the range of exports into China and Hong Kong.

The Trade Mission itinerary was an extensive one that encompassed over 20 official engagements in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Hong Kong. I had extremely productive meetings with the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Changfu, the Minister for Marketing Regulations, Zhang Mao and the Vice Minister for the General Administration of Customs, Zou Zhiwu. A number of additional Irish beef plants and one additional pork plant have now met the required approval standards to export to China. It is intended to complete the final administrative details to register other plants. We also held preliminary discussions around the issues of approval for additional plants as well as the prospect of sheep meat access.

In Hong Kong I raised the profile of Irish food at a Bord Bia prestigious cooking competition. I also met with the Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Dr. S.F. Leung. I took the opportunity to impart information on Ireland's unique agri-food sector including our commitment to strict food safety standards, sustainable production and high quality. Hong Kong has a population of almost 8 million consumers with relatively high disposable incomes.

We had a particular opportunity to present the Irish beef sector to potential buyers and distributors, following the recent success in obtaining access to the Chinese market. But we also wanted to build on existing trade links in other areas including dairy, pig meat and seafood. We wanted to highlight the credentials of Ireland’s food and drink sector from a food safety, sustainability and authenticity perspective, in order to develop a unique selling point for Irish product.

A key engagement in the itinerary was our participation in the leading food event, SIAL, in Shanghai, where Irish companies had an opportunity to engage with buyers, distributors and manufacturers from China’s food sector.

I also oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding, committing to an Irish presence at the China International Import Expo taking place this November in Shanghai. It is a great honour for Ireland to be invited by the Chinese authorities to participate in this November’s event in Shanghai. This initiative which is being personally driven by the President of China, Xi Jinping, will have an expected attendance of 185,000 Chinese buyers. An event such as this, which is being promoted by the Chinese Government, offers the ideal opportunity for Irish food exporters to do business and enhance relationships.

I also held high level meetings with a number of potential investors in the food and agri tech sectors.

Overall this was an extremely successful mission, facilitating the development of our ever growing partnership with China. There is a clear ambition on Irish and Chinese sides to further build co-operation between Ireland and China on many levels, including trade. Against the backdrop of Brexit, market diversification is crucial for the Irish Agri-food sector. As markets and opportunities go there are none bigger than China and in that regard the Trade Mission represented a very good week indeed for Ireland’s food exporters.