Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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1853. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a food-related trade mission to Mexico will occur in quarter 1 of 2023. [1797/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department currently does not intend undertaking a Ministerial Trade Mission to Mexico in 2023.

However, the Deputy will be aware that my colleague, Martin Heydon T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for New Market Development, did lead a successful Trade Mission to Mexico in April 2022. This was my Department's first Ministerial-led Trade Mission to Mexico since 2017, reflecting our ongoing commitment to supporting the Irish agri-food sector's ambitions to grow its presence in this high priority market.

On this Trade Mission, Minister Heydon undertook a number of trade promotion events, including a Trade Networking Event, hosted by the Embassy of Ireland, focusing on the promotion of Irish Pigmeat as part of Bord Bia’s EU Pigmeat Promotional Programme. The purpose of this campaign has been to build an awareness of Ireland as a supplier of high-quality, safe and sustainably produced pork. The three-year campaign: "European Pork and Poultry: Excellence in Quality Assurance and Food Safety" focuses exclusively on pork for Mexico, and targets its population of 126 million people. It was the first major Irish in-person event since Ireland gained market access for pigmeat in 2020.

Minister of State Heydon also had a series of meetings with senior Ministers in the Mexican Government, and with members of the National Agricultural Council.

The Minister also launched a new initiative to provide support for Female Rural Entrepreneurs in Mexico, which is jointly funded by my Department and by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).