Europatat welcomes its new associated member Bord Bia – the Irish Food Board.
The agri-food sector is of strategic importance to the Irish economy. The sector accounts for approx. 25% of all industry gross output, is heavily export orientated and employs 170,000 people representing 8.3% of the workforce in Ireland.
Against this background Bord Bia was established by an act of Parliament in 1994 as the Irish national food marketing and promotion agency. The Bord Bia Act 1994, Sections 7 and 8, set out the main functions of Bord Bia and include the following;
- Survey, investigate and develop markets and potential markets for food
- Provide or arrange for the provision of publicity, advertising and promotional campaigns for the purpose of encouraging the increased consumption of food or particular categories of food and for the purpose of expanding trade in food
- Establish, equip and operate, and provide for the establishment, equipment and operation of, and assist in the operation of, exhibitions, show rooms, information bureaux and similar establishments for the purpose of encouraging increased consumption of food or particular categories of food and for the purpose of expanding trade in food
- Publish and distribute or provide for the publication and distribution of magazines, journals, reports and similar documents for the purpose of encouraging the increased consumption of food or particular categories of food and for the purpose of expanding trade in food
- Operate such quality assurance schemes as may be appropriate and conducive to maintaining or improving the quality of all or part of any category or categories of food
- Administer such schemes, grants and other financial facilities requiring the disbursement of European Union Funds.
With headquarters located in Dublin, Bord Bia also has a network of overseas offices based in strategic market locations. These are London, Paris, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Milan, Madrid, Dubai, New York, Moscow and Shanghai. The Singapore office was opened in 2016, while 2017 saw the opening of the Warsaw office. The main aim of these offices is to link Irish food companies to the International marketplace.
Building on its Mission Statement “to drive, through market insight, and, in partnership with industry, the commercial success of a world-class food, drink and horticulture industry”, Bord Bia has led the development of the sector which has seen Irish food and drink exports experience six years of consecutive, sustained growth, to reach €12 billion by 2017. This is over 50% higher and €3.9 billion more than where they stood in 2009.
In 2012, Bord Bia launched its Origin Green Sustainability Programme. The first of its kind worldwide, the overall ambition of the Origin Green programme is to have every farm and every food manufacturing business demonstrate their commitment to operating in the most sustainable manner possible. This commitment is being independently certified and verified at every stage. The Programme addresses key sustainability areas such as sourcing, emissions, energy, waste, water, biodiversity, and CSR activities. Already over 85% of Irish exports are coming from verified member companies, proving the Irish food industry’s commitment to sustainability.
Discover more about our members here.
