merrion street

Addressing the Taste Council Summer School on ‘The Future is Food’ in Brooklodge Hotel, Co. Wicklow, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney, re-affirmed the importance of artisan and speciality food producers to the Irish economy.

Paying tribute to to the Taste Council and Bord Bia for organising the Summer School and to the 150 participants in attendance, the Minister said:

The Food Harvest 2020 process is industry-led and I think it hugely important that the industry take a strategic lead. In the early 1970s entrepreneurial farmhouse cheesemakers reinvigorated and reinvented cheesemaking traditions. Today the turnover of Irish Farmhouse Cheese is estimated at €12 million with €4.5 million in exports and the quality and diversity of product on offer is truly impressive. Subsequently there been a renaissance in specialty meats and increasing awareness of the sustainability and excellence of Irish quality meats.

Minister Coveney emphasised the importance of small food companies to the local economy:

Small food businesses overall had an estimated turnover of €400 million in 2010, employ 3,000 people directly and create ancillary employment in distribution and sales. With consumer awareness of locally produced food at 93% according to Bord Bia research, this offers a significant opportunity for specialty and artisan producers to build sales locally and to work together to establish new markets and reduce distribution costs in reaching those markets

Minister Coveney conluded by saying:

Artisan and speciality food producers are important contributors to the recovery and future prosperity of the Irish economy. Their survival and growth does not only bring investment returns for individual businesses, it also underpins supporting local and often rural economies and the image of Ireland as a provider of high quality, innovative and sustainable food excellence. Food tourism is a significant opportunity for local and regional foods, as seeking out local food experience has risen on the visiting tourists’ agenda. The market for food tourism in Ireland is valued at €2.2 billion.