The Anuga food and drink show in Cologne, Germany has a hall dedicated to meat and it is where all of the world’s major meat exporters exhibit. The basic formula is that companies tend to congregate under a national banner.

The Irish stand is the same size as previous years but the major departure is that Dawn have followed ABP’s footsteps and set up a company stand, separate from Bord Bia’s Irish stand.

Dawn and ABP go solo

Sitting side by side, both the ABP and Dawn stands were striking in their presentation and deciding which was the most impressive was a matter of taste. The Dawn stand incorporated Dunbia, the banner under which its Northern Ireland and British factories trade.

Dawn Pork and Bacon, Dawn International, Dawn Farms and QK Meats were part of Bord Bia’s Irish stand.

ABP along with Dawn had a strong corporate presence in Anuga

Slaney, 50% owned by ABP, was also on the Irish stand while Linden Foods, also 50% ABP owned, were on the Northern Ireland stand.

The Foyle Food Group and Hewitt’s were on the Northern Ireland stand.

Kepak, despite having a wide presence in the UK, remained part of the Bord Bia Irish stand as were Liffey Meats, Ashbourne Meats, Kildare Chilling and pig meat processors Rosderra.

Presence from UK regions

Elsewhere in the meat hall, the size and presence of the major South American countries was striking as was the Australian stand. English, Welsh and Northern Ireland companies exhibited under a Great Britain/Northern Ireland umbrella stand while Scotland had a standalone separate stand.

Scotland took a stand separate from the rest of the UK

The UK presence in the hall suggested that they expecting to be part of the EU market place for some time to come and a Brexit deal in contrast with the prime minister’s assurance that they would depart on 31 October, even if there is no deal.