A notable departure from the previous Anuga show in 2017 was the growing presence of substitute products for meat in the meat hall, a contradiction, but also a reflection of current trends. Irish companies had their usual strong presence at Anuga in Cologne, Germany, the biggest food and drink trade show in the world this year. All of the key players in meat processing were there as were Glanbia, Kerry Foods and Ornua from the dairy sector. In addition, there were a number of smaller specialist processing companies.

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Bord Bia’s Origin Green stand was the centre point of the Irish presence in the huge meat hall with ABP and Dawn taking separate stand space alongside the Irish stand. Northern Ireland companies exhibited on a Britain and Northern Ireland stand in the same hall.

Dawn and ABP go solo

The move by Dawn to follow the ABP model of having a consolidated company stand reflects the fact that, like ABP, it has a presence across all the UK regions, as well as France in the case of Dawn and Poland in the case of ABP.

The Dawn stand incorporated Dunbia, the banner under which its Northern Ireland and British factories trade while Dawn Pork & Bacon, Dawn International, Dawn Farms and QK Meats were part of Bord Bia’s Irish stand.

Slaney and ICM, 50% owned by ABP, were on the Irish stand, while Linden Foods, which is also 50% ABP-owned,was on the Northern Ireland stand as were the Foyle Food Group and Hewitts. Despite having a wide presence in the UK, Kepak remained part of the Bord Bia Irish stand as did Liffey Meats, Ashbourne Meats, Kildare Chilling and Rosderra, the pigmeat processor. In addition, there were a number of smaller processing companies that took up the space vacated in recent shows by ABP and Dawn. Bord Bia is constrained by the floor space it is allocated in a hall which is oversubscribed and even with the new companies taking part this year, there was still a waiting list to get space.

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 Britain and Northern Ireland umbrella stand, while Scotland had a standalone stand. The UK presence suggested that it is expecting to be part of the EU marketplace for some time to come as it hopes for a Brexit deal. This is in contrast with UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s assurance that the country will depart on 31 October, even if there is no deal.

Global competition in meat

The challenge facing Irish farmers in getting a viable price for their beef, sheepmeat and pigmeat was reflected by the presence of other major exporting countries.

The South American export super powers of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay had a huge presence as did Australia, while smaller exporters such as Poland and Namibia were present. The US was absent because it had a separate hall for its exporters.

Comment

Attending Anuga gives a perspective of the sheer size and scope of the global food and drink industry.

From an Irish farming perspective, dairy may now be our largest sector but it is in beef where we are in the premier league of exporters. The countries that are above us as beef exporters, such as Brazil, Australia, Argentina, the US and Uruguay, all have a huge presence and Ireland has to be in a position to compete in scale and presence to ensure our produce is in the shop window.

The major companies are now consolidating under their own banners, reflecting the fact that they are not confined to Ireland. It falls to Bord Bia to promote the Irish quality and brand value message to the world.

The values of the Irish brand are wrapped up in the QA scheme where the co-operation of Irish farmers in opening their farms to scrutiny enables a national assurance to be provided to global customers.

According to Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, this takes the form of food safety in China, sustainability and welfare in Europe and it is a basic requirement of the highest value supermarket and food service customers in the UK.

Beef farmers, in particular, are experiencing nightmare prices in recent times but despite this if we believe in our industry its values have to be promoted at the top table in places such as Anuga.

Funding this is a debate in itself, and while the extra €1.6m announced in the budget is welcome, the reality is that there is no upper limit on what could be spent promoting the values of Irish agriculture and getting the produce from Irish farms into the highest value markets.