Food Research Ireland - Department of Agriculture

A COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY
A globally competitive Irish food industry is fundamental to being able to
capture a share of the increased demand for food products. Economic
development is rapid and some new consumers increasingly
sophisticated. Typical of this new breed of consumers are those in the
BRIC countries; whom in demanding new and diverse food solutions
create new opportunities for innovative food firms. The markets for
naturally produced Irish food and drink products are considerable. To
capture a share of this expanding market opportunity, Ireland’s food
industry must remain competitive; be committed to compliance with
robust and best-in-class environmental standards and enhance its ability
to create high value-added products
Ireland’s food industry must confront a range of challenges, such as
those posed by the dynamics of sustainability, world trade liberalisation
and retailer buyer power. The industry response to these challenges will
influence the success of Irish food in new markets such as those driven
by an increasing global population and the rapid economic development
in the BRIC countries.
Ireland’s Food Sector exists in a complex system of primary production
and secondary processing of varied scale and degrees of fragmentation.
It operates within complicated trade/income support mechanisms,
government regulation and it currently faces a range of specific sectoral
challenges including:
■ Competitiveness
■ Production quotas
■ Buyer power
■ Market led products and the need for innovation
■ Commodities, volatility and trade liberalisation
■ Sustainability and the environment
■ Primary production efficiencies
16 OECD (2009) The Bioeconomy to 2030: designing a policy agenda
17 Energy in Ireland 1990 – 2009. SEAI report (2010)
With the exception of the opportunity resulting from the ending of milk
quotas and a potential 50% increase in the Irish milk pool, all the above
challenges are largely cross-sectoral. The multi-stakeholder nature of
some of these challenges requires that a concerted effort is made by all
parts of the industrial and technological support system to help
companies. Research and innovation play an important role in enabling
the industry to rise to these challenges and exploit the opportunities
they present.
FOOD CHAIN INTEGRITY & SUSTAINABILITY
Food Harvest 2020 sets out the importance for Ireland to maintain its
reputation as a food producer of high integrity and to clearly convey the
key points of differentiation that can enhance Ireland’s position as a
supplier of high quality food products and enhance the image of Ireland
as ‘The Food Island’.
Due to rising energy costs, climate change, and an increased awareness
by consumers of the ‘carbon footprint’ concept, food chain integrity and
sustainability has become a significant issue for the food sector. Fossil
fuel reserves will continue to decline in the next decades with a
corresponding increase in demand by over 44% from 2006 to 2030 16 and
this will not only lead to a further increase in greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions but also higher energy prices.The Irish food and beverage
sector consumed 507kilotonnes of final energy in 2009 17 . This was 23%
of all industrial final energy consumption in Ireland. As consumers
become more conscious of the impacts on the environment of their food
consumption patterns, so too the food industry recognises its need to
reduce the impacts of the food supply chain on the environment by using
less energy, less water, more sustainable raw materials and by reducing
waste.
Food Research Ireland
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