An ambitious joint venture between key players in the Irish and Japanese dairy sectors which would see the two collaborating to produce a range of functional foods - products bio-engineered to carry extra health benefits - is being negotiated by Enterprise Ireland.
The agency hopes the deal will encourage the domestic dairy industry to tap into the booming functional foods market, worth €120 billion worldwide and experiencing 10 per cent annual growth. Best-selling functional foods include Actimel yoghurt and Benecol dairy spread.
Officials opened talks with several of Japan's major functional food producers amid concern that the Irish dairy sector risks being left in the slow lane over its reliance on traditional commodities such as cream and butter.
Enterprise Ireland believes Japan - which has a dairy industry comparable in size to that of Ireland - is setting the pace for partnership between science and agriculture and wants the Republic to follow its lead.
Backed by proper investment, the functional foods market in Ireland could expand from €13 million to €200 million within five years, executive director Mr Mike Feeney said.
Declining to identify the Japanese firms which are being courted, Mr Feeney said talks were at an early stage but that a deal could be closed by next year. In the long term, a collaborative agreement could lead to greenfield investment in the Republic by Japan, he predicted.
