<\/p>\n
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for Ireland, Mr. Simon Coveney TD will be embarking on a weeklong trade mission to West Africa.<\/p>\n
Speaking before his departure, Minister Coveney said: \u00a0\u201cThis Trade Mission provides a key foundation on which to build strong economic links with West Africa and with Nigeria and Ghana in particular. The region has a strong demand for imports of quality food, given the size of its population and Ireland is strategically placed to be a key supplier of quality dairy and meat products, but also high end services in the field of education, finance, engineering, construction and technology\u201d.<\/p>\n
Involving more than 40 Irish companies, as well as senior delegates from Enterprise Ireland,\u00a0 Bord Bia, and Sustainable Food Systems Ireland, the mission will take visits to Abuja and Lagos in Nigeria, and Accra in Ghana. The Trade Mission will cover three major cities in two countries in five days with over forty key engagements.<\/p>\n
CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon said\u201cWe are very excited about the opportunity that exists for Irish companies in Africa. \u00a0The continent as a whole is the second fastest growing economy in the world and is home to eight of the world’s fastest growing economies. \u00a0This trade mission is about helping Irish companies to optimise on the opportunity that exists, as the continent transitions from the need for assistance, to a continent of opportunity; the so-called ‘aid to trade’ journey. Our ambition is to reach export sales of \u20ac600m to the region by 2018 and we will continue to\u00a0work with ambitious and capable Irish companies to expand their market share in African countries, exploring and developing lucrative trading relationships, that ultimately deliver export-led job creation in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expanding economies in West Africa provide fertile ground for Irish companies in the agri food sector wishing to expand their global footprint, and also in fields such as education,\u00a0 training, geoscience and engineering, financial services and technology. With combined populations of over 200 million, Nigeria and Ghana are experiencing healthy economic growth at present.<\/p>\n
CEO of Bord Bia Aidan Cotter said the Tade Mission will also take place in Lagos and will\u00a0focus on highlighting Ireland\u2019s sustainable dairy food production.<\/p>\n
According to her the forum will be attended by leading players from Nigeria\u2019s dairy industry\u201d Mr. Cotter added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfrica represents a growing opportunity for Irish food and drink exporters with its population set to double to 2.5 billion people over the next three and half decades.\u00a0 Ireland\u2019s more than billion euro export trade with Africa is dominated by dairy products and with the sector set for sustained expansion, the region is assuming major importance as a key target region,” she added.<\/p>\n
Overall, bilateral trade with Nigeria was worth half a billion euro in 2014 (exports \u20ac339 million), with Guinness extract the single largest export.\u00a0 Merchandise trade with Ghana was worth \u20ac38.7m in 2014 (exports \u20ac36.3million).<\/p>\n
Minister Coveney\u2019s presence will help to develop key relationships with potential clients for Irish companies, and to build a strong profile for Ireland as a centre of excellence in all of these areas.<\/p>\n
His visit will also involve key events for the Irish dairy and meat sectors, and will include bilateral meetings with his Ministerial counterparts in both Nigeria and Ghana.<\/p>\n
The Minister will also meet with World Food Programme Officials in Ghana, and visit a number of aid projects funded by that organisation, which receives approximately \u20ac8 million aid from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as part of Ireland\u2019s overseas development effort.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Ireland<\/p>\n
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