Major events in three cities mark arrival of Irish beef in the US

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD is this weekend leading a major trade promotion to the US which will mark the arrival of Irish beef there for the first time in 15 years. The trade mission will cover three cities, New York, Washington D.C, and Boston, with high-profile promotional events around Irish beef planned for each city.

Speaking in advance of the visit the Minister said “this visit to the US represents a huge opportunity to promote Irish beef in one of the most valuable markets in the world. We are visiting now to quickly build on the momentum generated by the US announcement last month that Ireland is the only EU member state approved for access there. This confers a real first-mover advantage on Irish beef which we will be exploiting to its fullest next week.

Leading Irish beef companies will accompany the Minister on the visit, along with Bord Bia who are using the tour to launch their strategy for the marketing of Irish beef in the US.

Beef from the EU has been off the retail shelves in the US since it imposed its ban for BSE reason’s over fifteen years ago. After intensive technical and political engagement over the last two years, Ireland is now the first EU country to be allowed back into the market.

Among the high profile promotional events will be a launch for high-end trade buyers and US food publications in New York on Monday evening, featuring a range of international chefs who will endorse the premium quality of Irish beef. Similar events are planned for Washington DC on Tuesday and Boston on Wednesday. Commenting on these events the Minister said “these promotional events are specifically aimed at building awareness and generating excitement about Irish beef among trade buyers and opinion formers. It’s essential that the premium quality of natural, family farmed Irish  beef  is well communicated to the market there, and using world renowned chefs to convey that message is central to this strategy.”

Bord Bia Chief Executive Aidan Cotter said the campaign to make Irish the beef of choice for high end customers in foodservice and retail, emerged from comprehensive consumer and trade research undertaken by Bord Bia since 2012. “Our research confirms that Irish beef fully meets the US consumer`s expectations of purity, simplicity and grass fed and is reinforced by our sustainable Irish beef story. The US consumer wants to “taste the difference” and will pay more for Irish beef based on quality. Bord Bia colleagues in New York and Dublin have engaged intensively with targeted potential customers for the past two years.” he said

Next week’s visit will also include meetings with the US Secretary for Agriculture Tom Vilsack and other leading politicians on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Commenting on these meetings the Minister said “I am looking forward to meeting with Tom Vilsack with whom I have worked closely over the last number of years. Tom’s visit to Ireland last June was instrumental in bringing us to this stage with beef access. We will continue our constructive engagement on issues of mutual interest to our respective agriculture sectors and I look forward to building on already positive relationship at our meeting on Tuesday”

On Tuesday next the Minister will address both the World Bank and the School of International Studies at the prestigious John Hopkins University on the sustainable development of the Irish agri food sector.  These events will be an opportunity to increase the profile of the  Irish agri food sector, and outline the strategy for its development,   to current and future opinion shapers in the US and internationally .

The US decision to approve Irish beef in January cleared the way for the Irish authorities to approve individual beef plants to export to the US on the basis of criteria agreed with US counterparts. The Department has confirmed that it has already approved two Irish plants for export and that these have been cleared by the US authorities to commence trade. A number of other Irish plants are working their way through the approval process.

Notes for Editors

• Irish beef exports in 2014 were worth €2.27bn
• The total US beef market is estimated at 11 million metric tonnes. It is split 60% foodservice / 40% grocery retail (vol).
• Approximately 10% (vol) is imported, the bulk of which is manufacturing beef. While grass fed / natural / organic beef is a small volume category compared to conventional / grain fed beef, currently accounting for approximately 10% of total volume, it is estimated to be growing at approximately 20%+ per annum.
• US beef prices in January were over €4.90/kg which is a record level. These prices were 30% higher than the same point in the previous year
• Average prices there in 2014 were up 23% on the previous year. This reflects the tightening cattle supplies there and the fact that third country exports cannot yet fill the gap.

Itinerary

View this Press Release as a PDF:  DAFMPR 18/2015 (pdf 673Kb) 

Date Released: 09 February 2015