The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, today welcomed the agreement which has been reached with Public Authority for Food and Nutrition of Kuwait under which Irish beef, sheepmeat and poultry will be eligible for export to Kuwait
The Minister said that: “This agreement follows on from bilateral negotiations between my Department and Kuwait, with the ongoing assistance of the Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi, including our Agricultural Attaché in the Gulf Region who is based in the Embassy.”
“The opening of this new market is a reflection of the confidence held by the Kuwaiti authorities in the high standards of food safety and the rigorous controls in Ireland. It marks another important step in the development of Ireland’s agri-food links with Kuwait and with the whole Gulf region. ”
Ireland previously hosted a discovery visit for Kuwaiti officials in March, led by Sustainable Food Systems Ireland, which helped to progress negotiations. The market is being opened to beef, sheepmeat and poultry meat and meat products.
The opening of the Kuwaiti market follows on from the announcement in July that Ireland had gained access for the export of beef, sheepmeat and poultry to Qatar. These new markets come under the market development theme of the Food Wise 2025 Strategy, under which the Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Bord Bia will work closely to increase the number of markets worldwide to which Irish meat exporters have access.
The Minister added that “Details on these new markets are being added to the DAFM market access portal which I launched in May and a Trader Notice will issue shortly. Growing and developing new markets, a key theme of the Food Wise strategy, is an important response to possible Brexit impacts on the sector”.
Note for Editors:
Irish agri-food exports to Kuwait amounted €17.1 million in 2017 of which around 93% is accounted for by Dairy exports.
The Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi is also accredited to Kuwait.
The market access web portal launched as part of the Action Plan on Market Access and exports is available at http://www.marketaccess.agriculture.gov.ie/
