Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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58. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on the recent trade mission to Germany, relating to Irish food exports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10976/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Germany is a key export destination for Ireland's high-quality food. It was our fifth-largest destination for agri-food exports in 2022, valued at in excess of €1 billion.

My colleague, Minister of State Pippa Hackett, led a trade mission to Germany from 12^th to 15^thFebruary 2023. The visit began in Berlin, where the Minister attended a series of bilateral political meetings at the German Bundestag. These included meetings with the Chairman of the Food and Agriculture Committee, and with the Green Party's agriculture spokesperson, where sustainable food systems, current agriculture market challenges and land use policy were discussed. Minister Hackett also met with the Chair of the German Forestry Council to discuss forestry policy issues.

A key objective of this trade mission was to promote Irish organic agri-food exports in what is now Europe's biggest organic market. Minister Hackett participated in the BIOFACH trade fair in Nuremburg, the world’s largest organic trade fair, supporting the eight Irish organic food and drink manufacturers who were exhibiting at Bord Bia's BIOFACH pavilion.

The Minister used the opportunity to hold further meetings with a variety of key players in the German organic sector, including German and Bavarian State Government Ministers, retail customers and food service industry representatives.

The trade mission offered important insights, learnings and best practice from the German organic sector, which has grown significantly and successfully over recent years.

This is an exciting time for the Irish organic sector, with over 2,000 new participants joining the Organic Farming Scheme in 2023. Funding of €256 million will be available over the next five years under the CAP Strategic Plan, representing a five-fold increase on the amount available under the previous Rural Development Programme - further evidence of this Government's strong policy focus in this area.

I am confident that our organics sector will continue to exhibit strong growth despite wider current geo-political challenges, and that we are on target to reach our goal of 10% of Irish farmland under organic production by 2030. Trade promotion is an important element of the strategy to develop the sector, and my Department, in conjunction with Bord Bia, will continue to use all available opportunities to promote our organic sector.