Minister opens Bord Bia regional office in Singapore

A trade mission to Asia led by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed has wrapped up in Singapore with the official opening of Bord Bia’s regional office at the Irish Embassy in the city state.

The opening came a day after the launch in Shanghai of a new digital campaign called Origin Green, intended to promote Irish dairy products to China’s web consumers directly. Last year Ireland exported more than €650 million worth of food and drink to China, an increase of 16 per cent on 2014, primarily driven by dairy, pig meat and seafood.

The trade mission was in two parts, with Minister of State Andrew Doyle travelling to Vietnam and Korea while Mr Creed visited China and Singapore. About 30 Irish agrifood and fisheries companies took part on the mission.

Growing market

“My 24,637-kilometre round trip over four days to Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore coupled with Minister of State Doyle’s efforts in Vietnam and South Korea has exposed the Irish agrifood and agritech sectors to a growing market of 1.5 billion people,” Mr Creed said at the end of the trip.

“Creating new markets and building on existing trading relationships is key, particularly in the context of the UK’s decision to exit the EU. We have ambitious targets for food exports growth set out in FoodWise 2025, and I’m confident that this mission can act as a catalyst for continued growth in this important strategic region,” said Mr Creed.

The Origin Green campaign was launched at a lunch in Shanghai for more than 200 Chinese food buyers, trade partners and local media.

Speaking at the launch, Mr Creed said it was important to differentiate Irish food exports to China from other countries’ products.

“Bord Bia’s Origin Green provides us with a competitive edge as the only national sustainability programme providing verifiable safe, secure and sustainably produced food,” he said.

“Chinese consumers have been enjoying quality Irish dairy product for many years without necessarily making the link with its origin and what makes it so unique. We can now close that loop by communicating direct to the consumer,” he said.

Online shoppers

China has more than 680 million active internet users and at least 653 million use social media, while more than 60 per cent of Chinese consumers shop online each week, compared with a global average of less than 20 per cent.

“The strong influence of social media in China is ideal for reaching our core target audience and, following our consumer insight and research work, we have identified the key messages and relevant online platforms,” said Bord Bia chief executive Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia.

In its initial phase, through a series of online ads, promotions and targeted blogger engagement, Bord Bia expects to reach in excess of 33 million Chinese consumers.

David Kennedy, international markets manager at Bord Bia, said Origin Green was about building on existing relationships.

“It’s about being able to show Chinese shoppers themselves what it means to buy dairy products that are produced in Ireland, what production systems we have and what safety and what controls are in place. We are getting that bit closer to the consumer all the time.”

Bord Bia plans to expand the campaign early next year to include Irish meat and seafood.