About 166 new food and drink products developed by Irish companies will be unveiled at a major Bord Bia marketing event tomorrow.
The food board is bringing 300 international food buyers and 100 Irish purchasers to Croke Park for a series of 2,400 pre-arranged business meetings with Irish companies to boost food and drink sales.
The meetings will be held on the same basis as “speed dating” which has proved a very satisfactory method of introducing buyers and sellers at previous events organised by the food board.
Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, said the event, Marketplace Ireland, offered overseas and domestic buyers a unique opportunity to explore the capability, quality and export capacity of the Irish food and drink industry using a highly time-efficient formula.
“Over 150 dynamic, established and emerging Irish companies will in turn be exposed to key buyers from the retail and food service sectors from across Europe, the US and Asia,” he said.
There has been an intensive build up to the event involving Bord Bia staff working with the Irish companies through training workshops and seminars on broadening export reach, maximising sales pitches and analysing new markets.
Through its network of nine overseas offices, Bord Bia has briefed the overseas buyers, with itineraries tailored to each of their requirements.
It said this comprehensive approach guaranteed a more productive and worthwhile event as each of the buyers would meet the most relevant potential suppliers.
During their time in Dublin buyers will also be able to take part in guided store visits, enjoy Irish food and drink tastings
In some cases they will undertake site visits to particular companies.
The event, which is part of the food board’s major marketing drive, comes at a critical time for the food and drink industry which has been badly hit, especially by the decline in the value of sterling last year because a high proportion of food and drinks exports go to the UK.
The decline in the value of sterling, combined with the economic downturn and severe difficulties in the global dairy market, created unprecedented challenges for Irish food and drink exporters last year.
The value of Irish food and drink exports fell by 12 per cent last year, or by just under € 1 billion, to stand at € 7.12 billion.
There was also a decline of 3 per cent in the volume exported worldwide, which analysts say was impressive given the depth of the problems in the industry worldwide.