Inside the world of business
Cap still fitting very well for Irish beef industry
THE AGRI-FOOD industry received another boost yesterday with figures from Bord Bia showing a 12 per cent rise in the value of Irish food and drink exports last year, helping the sector to approach the record €9 billion mark.
While the figures are impressive, much of the growth was down to the record high commodity prices, though volumes did increase by 25 per cent, an impressive result in light of the tough consumer environment.
The growth in popularity of Irish whiskey and organic salmon in far-flung corners of the globe is all well and good, but the bread and butter of Irish exports continues to be the meat and dairy sector.
Dairy and meat exports each accounted for about 30 per cent of all Irish food and drink exports last year.
Much has been made of the potential of the dairy sector. The abolition of EU milk quotas in 2015 means that Ireland will be free to produce as much milk as it likes. Because Ireland benefits from cheap, grass-based methods of production, this puts it at a major competitive advantage to other producer countries.
What gets less attention is the thriving meat export industry, particularly in beef. Ireland is the largest beef exporter in Europe and the fourth largest beef exporter in the world.
It is all a far cry from a decade ago when Ireland’s beef industry was in crisis.
One of the fallouts of past meat scandals is that Irish beef is one of the most regulated and best produced meat products in the world. The industry has also successfully changed its market focus. While in the 1990s about half of Irish beef went to non-EU countries such as the Gulf states, now 98 per cent goes directly on to the shelves of European retailers.
Irish processors have built up direct relationships with the top retailers across Europe, rather than depending on the wholesale market.
Promoting Ireland’s natural green image is also key to branding Irish beef as a high-priced, premium product. The elephant in the room is that Irish and EU beef is sheltered from the vagaries of the free market through a heavily controlled import tariff system which protects EU meat.
Irish officials tasked with representing Ireland in the next stage of the Cap reform and trade talks will be conscious that securing that system will be vital for the survival of the industry.
One banker who is still doing well
THE NAME of Dubliner John Hourican was mentioned in early speculation as a possible candidate for one of the top jobs in Irish banking during the recent clear-out of executives. But such suggestions were dismissed as quickly given what he was said to be earning in Britain.
And now we know why. Hourican featured in press reports in Britain earlier this week for the £4 million (€4.8 million) bonus he is in line to receive later this year for heading up the investment banking division of Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 83 per cent owned by the British government. He was awarded almost 29 million shares and options in RBS in 2009 soon after taking the job. These shares can be cashed in later this year based on performance targets. It certainly makes the Government’s €500,000 pay cap for bankers look paltry by comparison.
The 41-year-old former Dublin City University graduate is something of a hotshot in banking after being recruited by RBS chief Stephen Hester to head up the global banking and investments division after the ousting of Fred “The Shred” Goodwin in 2008.
The timing of the disclosure on Hourican’s bonus is rather unfortunate for the banker as RBS prepares to announce today that it is to axe up to 5,000 jobs, including positions at its beleaguered Irish banking division, Ulster Bank.
Hourican trained as an accountant with Price Waterhouse in Dublin and left Ireland in the 1990s to work in London and Hong Kong. He is the son of the former Bord na Móna chief executive of the same name. He worked at ABN Amro and later RBS.
Staff at Ulster Bank won’t like hearing of further redundancies following a 1,000-strong cull in 2009 but at least one Irishman is still doing well at the UK banking group.
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