Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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479. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if trade missions are planned in 2019 in order to secure new markets for dairy products; and if so, the details of such missions. [2373/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The pursuit and development of new markets for Irish agri-food exports is an ongoing and central component of the strategic development of the agri-food sector, as evidenced by its placement at the centre of Food Wise 2025, the industry's strategy for development over the coming decade. Food Wise 2025 outlines the huge potential for growth in agri-food exports to new and emerging markets, particularly in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Gulf region. This is where our efforts will be focused for the foreseeable future, particularly given the need to diversify our markets and to reduce our exposure to the UK market in particular following Brexit.

Trade Missions play an important role in market development, and I have been very active on this front in recent years as we strive to gain, and then develop, a presence in as many global markets as possible. I have led very successful missions to the Gulf Region, the US, Mexico, Japan and Korea in 2017, and to the US, Canada, China, Indonesia and Malaysia in 2018. These missions included participants from across the agri-food sector and featured extensive trade contacts as well as high-level political discussions.

The destinations for trade missions for 2019 are currently under consideration and I expect to be in a position to announce them shortly.