Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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184. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the work that has been carried out by his Department with stakeholders to date in 2021 to develop new opportunities for Irish agri-food producers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60623/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The promotion of Ireland's high-quality, safe, nutritious and sustainably produced food, and the development of export opportunities for Irish food producers, are core objectives of my Department and its agencies, in particular Bord Bia.

In support of the achievement of these objectives, the Government has provided Bord Bia with significant additional funding over a number of recent budgets, including in 2021. This funding is targeted at realising the opportunities to grow Irish exports of agri-food products, as well as supporting companies that are establishing and expanding their presence in international markets. It is particularly focused on markets that have been identified by Bord Bia as providing the greatest potential for export growth across the full range of product categories.

My Department's Ministerial Trade Mission programme is also informed by this market prioritisation work, and these Missions have become a key component of our strategy to develop new opportunities for Irish agri-food producers. Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, in 2021 Minister Heydon and I have led a significant programme of virtual Trade Missions and key customer engagements. These have covered Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, China, Singapore and West Africa, as well as our traditional markets in the EU (Germany, Netherlands), UK and US.

My Department also continues to work on the market access opportunities provided by recent EU Free Trade Agreements with third countries, and to press at Government-to-Government level for the removal of technical market access barriers for specific product categories across a range of third country markets.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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185. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to further develop markets and secure new opportunities for Irish agri-food producers over the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60624/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish agri-food sector has a strong international reputation as a supplier of quality, safe, nutritious and sustainably produced food and drink, but it cannot afford to rest on its laurels in a very competitive and dynamic marketplace.

Food Vision 2030, the stakeholder-led strategy for sustainable development of the sector in the decade ahead, aims to position Ireland as a world leader in sustainable food systems. Food Vision 2030 sets four key missions for the sector, one of which is "Food which is safe, nutritious and appealing, trusted and valued at home and abroad". This mission identifies specific actions to support the diversification and development of export markets, which will be crucial in ensuring that Irish food exports secure premium markets and market segments, delivering a return for everyone along the supply chain, and particularly farmers and fishers as the primary producers.

These include an intensified programme of Ministerial trade missions to priority markets, both virtual and in-person; an updated market prioritisation exercise; and building on existing market access efforts for key product categories to priority international markets.

My Department, in cooperation with Bord Bia and other state agencies, as well as sectoral stakeholders, will progress work to implement these actions, and will continue to allocate significant resources to the pursuit and development of new markets for the benefit of Irish food producers.