Minister Heydon leads Irish Trade Mission to Mexico
The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with Special Responsibility for New Market Access, Martin Heydon TD, is leading an Irish Trade Mission to Mexico.
The Minister made a brief stop in San Antonio, Texas, to meet with the leadership of H-E-B Supermarkets, a key stockist of Irish products; before moving on to Mexico City. Minister Heydon then led a Trade Networking Event, hosted by the Embassy of Ireland, focusing on Irish Pigmeat as part of Bord Bia’s EU Pigmeat Promotional Programme.
Today (Friday) Minister Heydon will be joined by officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy, and the Embassy of Ireland, for meetings with senior Ministers of the Mexican Government, and members of the National Agricultural Council. The Minister will also host a business dinner for key members of the Irish business and agri-food business community in Mexico.
Minister Heydon said: “I eagerly look forward to this visit to Mexico, which is an important and growing market for Irish agri-food. It is especially timely to visit just as the first shipment of Irish pork arrives in Mexico. My Department is working closely with their counterparts to enhance market access for Irish agri-food exports, including expanded access for pigmeat products, and this trade mission is an opportunity to raise these requests at political level.” “I want to thank the Ambassador of Ireland to Mexico, Maeve von Heynitz, and my own Department’s agricultural attaché, Gráinne Roughan, for their support during this trade mission, and especially for their ongoing positive engagement with key stakeholders here in Mexico. Finally, the Minister will today launch a new initiative to provide support for Female Rural Entrepreneurs in Mexico. Minister Heydon commented “I am honoured to launch a Female Rural Entrepreneurs Programme in Mexico, supported and jointly funded by my Department in collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Programme, which builds on Ireland’s strong international relationship with FAO and draws experience from our successful ACORNs Programme in Ireland, will focus on empowering female entrepreneurs in the Mexican state of Jalisco through mentorship and peer support improving and enhancing engagement in the rural economy, and increased resilience.” “In Ireland, our Food Vision 2030 strategy calls out the key role of women in our farming and food communities; but acknowledges that their contribution needs to be better recognised and supported. “ “I am so pleased that the model developed by ACORNS - with new entrepreneurs gaining practical advice from a mentor and sharing learnings with their peer group - which has supported so many of our fantastic female entrepreneurs at home, will now begin in Mexico.”
Bord Bia is promoting its €3.8 million EU Pork campaign in Mexico City to build awareness of Ireland as a supplier of high-quality, safe and sustainably produced pork.
The three-year campaign, European Pork and Poultry: Excellence in Quality Assurance and Food Safety, focuses exclusively on pork for Mexico, and targets a population of 126 million people. It is the first major in person event since Ireland gained market access to export pigmeat to Mexico in 2020.
To promote the €3.8 million campaign, Bord Bia invited Mexican government officials and food industry representatives including top importers, distributors, and wholesalers, as well as media to an EU Pork seminar at the Irish embassy in Mexico City featuring presentations on Irish pork and production.
Noreen Lanigan, Bord Bia’s Europe and North America Director said: “Bord Bia’s consumer research shows us that while pork has always been an important part of the Mexican diet, greater urbanisation and a growing middle class with rising consumer incomes who have an interest in food safety, have helped drive the sharp increase in pork demand. We also know that there is both a strong demand for quick and easy to-use pork solutions, along with an appetite for premium pork cuts particularly among younger Mexican consumers.
The EU Pork trade-focused campaign will build awareness and understanding of food safety, quality assurance and sustainability of European pork and Irish pork is well positioned to supply this increasing demand as we produce pork to the strictest EU food safety standards.”
ENDS
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