Launching Bord Bia’s (the Irish Food Board) new three-year business strategy for the Middle East market, Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D, led a trade mission to Saudi Arabia seeking to boost food exports.
The visit to the Kingdom coincides with new Bord Bia survey results of Saudi consumers being released, which paints an insightful picture of the changed behaviors of people, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the survey results commissioned by Bord Bia, it shows that the pandemic has helped Saudi adults place a greater emphasis on the nutritional content of their food. These more health-conscious behavioral changes correlate with healthier food choices, with almost nine in 10 Saudi shoppers (85 percent) saying that a health focus is important in the food they buy, with 76 percent claiming to have increased their intake of food products with immunity-boosting claims such as dairy. This is good news for Irish dairy exports to the Kingdom, which last year were valued at 91 million euros ($102 million).
Ireland already exports agrifood to more than 180 countries worldwide, reaching a new record of 13.5 billion euros in 2021. The industry-led strategy for the growth of the agrifood sector, Food Vision 2030, provides an ambitious and clear roadmap for the development of the sector and its aim is to increase agrifood exports to 21 billion euros by 2030.
Bord Bia has identified Saudi Arabia and the UAE as key priority markets as it sets its sights on significantly growing Irish food and drink food exports to both countries, accounting for a combined 50 percent of current Irish trade to the Gulf states. In 2021, exports to the Middle East were estimated at 311 million euros ($352 million), led by dairy and dairy ingredients, followed by consumer foods at 21 million euros. Fat-filled milk powder and infant food are the largest categories within dairy while consumer foods are led by ice cream, juices, and meal solutions across the Middle East.
Signifying the importance placed on trade with Saudi Arabia, McConalogue said: “The Middle East represents an important and rapidly growing market for Ireland and a market that is valuing the quality of Irish food and drink products. On this trade mission to Saudi Arabia, our goal is to explore developing closer links with key partners as we aim to grow food exports to the country alongside promoting the reputation of Ireland as a source of high-quality sustainably produced meat, dairy, and other food products. There is enormous potential for the Irish food and drink industry in Saudi Arabia and through the support of Bord Bia, we will be looking to build further on the opportunities that exist in the country.”
Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, said: “Saudi Arabia is a priority market for Bord Bia as we aim to significantly grow the value of Irish food exports to the country from just over 100 million euros last year.”
On the Saudi leg of the trade mission, Minister McConalogue met with Hisham bin Saad Al-Jadhey, CEO of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, to discuss areas for greater cooperation between Ireland and Saudi Arabia.
The Irish trade delegation also visited Almarai, the largest vertically integrated dairy company in the world and the biggest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle East, with an estimated turnover of 2.4 billion euros.