Ireland wants to move food and drink industry exports to the Middle East. The country is looking for new markets to absorb a possible Brexit. England is currently Ireland's largest market. This was stated by the British Agriculture Minister Michael Creed.
Ireland exports approximately €1 billion a year in beef and dairy products to England. That is more than 40 percent of the total export from Ireland. According to Creed, there is no other country in the EU that feels the pressure of Brexit so much. England is not only the largest market for beef and dairy products, but also for Guinness beer. According to Creed, 18.000 Irish farmers would have to look for a new market due to the secession from England.
The first steps towards this have been taken. In early March, Ireland reached a trade agreement with Saudi Arabia for the export of processed meat. Saudi Arabia is already a major market for Ireland. The country annually imports 135 million euros worth of cheese and dairy products. The United Arab Emirates also import 60 million euros from Ireland every year.
In October, Ireland already concluded a trade agreement for the export of sheep meat to Iran. However, this did not go as planned, as Iran was unable to meet its payment obligations. Moving to Russia and the surrounding area is not an option due to the many import bans.
Ireland remains ambitious with regard to exports. The country wants to increase exports by 8 billion euros by 2025. Ireland mainly wants to do this by concluding agreements with countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. According to Ireland, these countries are particularly attractive for export because of the growing middle class and higher consumer spending.
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