THE importance of the Dublin Kerrygold Horse Show as an advertising event for the Irish Dairy Board was stressed yesterday by Dr Noel Cawley at the opening of the show in the RDS yesterday.
He said the show, which would be seen this year by over 200 million television viewers worldwide, was a major vehicle for the board's promotion of the Kerrygold brand.
The event was very important in worldwide sales of the 90,000 tonnes of product the board sells all over the world, 40,000 tonnes of it in branded packs, he added.
"We are extremely pleased with this as a quality event and we are also sure that it helps the sale of Kerrygold butter at home here in Ireland as well," said Dr Cawley, who is managing director of Bord Bainne.
He said that Kerrygold had 45 per cent of national butter consumption sales and that sales had been growing at home and worldwide since Kerrygold began its involvement with the show in 1988.
Coverage of the show would be important in markets such as South Africa, he said, where the board had been selling product for the last 18 months and where there was a growing market.
TV coverage in the US would also be important for the sale of Kerrygold Swiss cheese, which was going very well there.
However, Dr Cawley said no commitment would be made on continuing sponsorship of the show next year.
The annual sponsorship of the show cost the company in the region of £350,000 annually taking into account staff and other costs. However, the event created goodwill with customers from abroad.
He said the board would not be the major sponsor in 1998 when the World Equestrian Games will be held in Ireland in conjunction with the event. The main sponsor will be Nissan.
Dr Cawley predicted a fall in sales of dairy products next year because of GATT restrictions, currency problems and falling EU support for the industry. He said current prices being paid to dairy farmers for milk did not reflect the market reality.
There was a good attendance at the show yesterday despite dull weather and the change in the opening day to Wednesday.
The event was picketed by a group of animal rights activists complaining about the treatment of horses in Canada for the production of hormone replacement drugs for women.
The show continues today.