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• IRISH EXAMINER: Thinking local in a global sense: Why buying Irish will save jobs 

  April 27, 2021 Profiles and Interview
  

  Thinking local in a global sense: Why buying Irish will save jobs

  Agri-food sector shows resilience in spite of Covid and Brext
  SUN, 25 APR, 2021 – 17:05

  RAY RYAN

  Love Irish Food aims to help shoppers make informed choices about buying Irish food and drinks. That’s because every Irish product on the shelves is a real home-grown story about people working on farms and in factories, on retail floors, and in deliveries.

   

  “It’s simple. Buying more Irish-made products helps Irish businesses survive and protects Irish jobs,” the website says.

   

  The need for that support is now more relevant than ever as the food chain adapts to the challenges resulting from Brexit and Covid-19.

   

  Ireland, a country with a global reputation as an agricultural country, imported 72,000 tonnes of potatoes, 47,000 tonnes of onions, 29,000 tonnes of tomatoes, 23,000 tonnes of cabbage and 15,000 tonnes of lettuce in 2017.

   

  But there is now growing evidence that consumers are responding to the Love Irish Food message and increasingly buying Irish products.

   

  Recent research by Kantar Worldpanel revealed that 44 of the top 100 selling grocery brands in Ireland during 2020 were Irish produced. This cohort has grown by 18% to a total of €1.07bn in combined sales.

   

  Kieran Rumley, executive director, Love Irish Food, which commissioned the research, said the contribution of Irish food and drink brands to local and national economies is both vital and immense.

   

  Educating consumers

  It aims to educate consumers to recognise Irish brands and help these businesses to survive and protect jobs.

   

  “This is critical in the current climate in the context of the global health pandemic and will be crucial in driving economic recovery,” he said.

   

  Last year, despite the largest disruption to global markets since the end of the Second World War, the value of Irish food, drink, and horticulture exports was valued at €13bn, a marginal 2% decline.

   

  However, the domestic food service industry (out of home) collapsed with the prolonged closure of pubs, restaurants, and hotels. But a surge in home cooking boosted the retail sector.

   

  Economist Jim Power also noted during a recent Love Irish Food webinar that Ireland imported over €8bn worth of food and drink products in the first 11 months of 2020.

   

  Britain accounted for 47% of that total, but in the context of Brexit, some of these products are becoming more difficult to source and more expensive.

   

  The restaurant sector took a big hit during Covid.

   

  “There has to be potential for import substitution — in other words producing locally, what we previously imported.

   

  “The decisions taken by Irish consumers can play a key role in this regard. The role of Love Irish Food is to help inform consumers about the impact of such decisions on local communities and local economies.

   

  “This message has resonated with many people during the Covid-19 crisis, and the objective now is to ensure that post-pandemic consumers will not forget the importance of supporting local producers,” he said.

   

  Mr Power, a board member of Love Irish Food, said the agri-food sector was instrumental in pulling the Irish economy out of deep recession after the 2008-2011 period.

   

  The economy now finds itself in another difficult situation as a result of Covid-19. Some sectors have been particularly damaged by the pandemic and the associated restrictions. It will be necessary to rebuild them as quickly and as effectively as possible.

   

  Rebuilding economy

   

  Mr Power said the sector will eventually revert to normal, and then it will have to play a significant role in rebuilding the overall economy, and particularly rural economic activity and employment, Love Irish Food must play a key role in driving home the importance of consumers making informed choices about buying Irish brands but ultimately it is the purchasing decisions of consumers that will matter most, he said.

   

  Rowena Dwyer, Enterprise Ireland, replying to issues raised during a recent Seanad debate on Brexit, said there are opportunities relating to import substitution.

   

  “We have already seen some of our own companies looking more at the domestic market opportunities and growing from there,” she said

   

  Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, speaking on a Love Irish Food webinar last month, said the food and drinks sector, despite the extraordinary challenges of the past year, has shown great resilience and had evolved to meet the needs of its customers domestically and internationally.

   

  Ireland should be proud of its strong reputation as a supplier of safe, nutritious, and sustainably produced food and work to enhance it for the benefit of farmers, fishermen and other producers, he said, adding that the Government will play its part in that regard over the coming months.

   

  Earlier this month, Bord Bia began a new year-long programme to support the €2.5bn Prepared Consumer Foods (PCF) sector.

   

  With the UK accounting for 70% of its total exports, the sector carried a significant Brexit exposure.

   

  The full and first tangible impact of that exposure was highlighted in January — just one month into post-Brexit trading, with year-on-year PCF exports to the UK decreasing by 19% (€28m).

   

  Total exports (in value terms) of prepared consumer foods globally were down 18% in January compared to 2020. This €37.5m decline was the largest decrease since the onset of the pandemic, and the first reflection of the impact of Brexit on trade

   

  Last month, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue and Minister of State Martin Heydon led a series of Bord Bia organised meetings with key global customers.

   

  The need to diversify into new priority markets for innovative prepared consumer food product companies a key message Bord Bia and over 50 Irish prepared consumer food (PCF) companies also hosted some 500 virtual trade meetings over six days with buyers from key export markets.

   

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• Agriland.ie : Manor Farm cooks up a storm with digital recipe book

  May 12, 2020 Profiles and Interview
  

  Irish chicken producer Manor Farm, along with chefs and food influencers, has created a digital chicken recipe book, which when downloaded, will raise funds for the Feed the Heroes charity organisation. The recipe book is available as an e-book for a donation on the dedicated Feed the Heroes cookbook fundraising page.

  All donations from the recipe book will go to Feed the Heroes which supports medical workers in their nutrition needs during Covid-19. Manor Farm, which sources and processes approximately 50% of all fresh chicken sold in the Irish retail market, aims to raise €20,000 by May 20 for the organisation as the next phase of quarantine is introduced.

  Manor Farm, which operates its own feed mill close to its processing plant in Shercock, Co. Cavan, employs over 900 people and works with over 180 local farmers.

  The company supplies its Irish customers through the major supermarkets, local stores and butchers as well as selling into export markets. It is a member of the Love Irish Food campaign which encourages Irish consumers to buy more Irish-made products to help the country’s businesses survive, protecting Irish jobs.

  Manor Farm collaborated with its brand ambassador, Adrian Martin, in gathering a collective of food enthusiasts to create the recipe book. The tastebuds are tempted with 22 chicken dishes that can be easily created during the quarantine period.

  Those who provided Manor Farm with their go-to chicken recipes were: Darina Allen; Rachel Allen; Dean Coppard; Simon Delaney; Edward Hayden; Sharon Hearne-Smith; I Love Cooking; Adrian Martin; Emmet McCourt; JP McMahon; Jess Redden; Ruth Scott and Rob Morgan; Joe Shannon; Eoin Sheehan; The Naked Blondie; The Wonky Spatula; and Yes Chef magazine.

  Expanding Horizons

  Restaurateur Adrian Martin also included his favourite chicken recipe. Adrian is an enthusiastic Irish chef who has worked with Manor Farm to expand consumer horizons on the versatility of chicken. Earlier this year, he opened his first restaurant, Wildflower, in London.

  Brendan Nolan, marketing manager for Manor Farm, said that in following Health Service Executive (HSE) and HSPC guidelines, its staff and colleagues had continued to go to work every day in difficult circumstances and could therefore recognise the sacrifices that frontline workers were making on everyone’s behalf.

  “This book is a thank you to them from Manor Farm,” he said.

  Manor Farm ambassador, Adrian Martin, said he was privileged to have the opportunity to collaborate with his chef friends and food contemporaries to develop the online recipe book.

  We know more people are cooking at home in this current crisis and we hope we can add some variety to their repertoire with many accessible chicken recipes, while also supporting the invaluable work of Feed the Heroes.

  The Manor Farm Feed the Heroes cookbook is available online on the Manor Farm website, with a dedicated donation page. Manor Farm became involved with Feed the Heroes when it noticed a strain in demand for its products in supermarkets while its foodservice business was down.

  The company, a certified member of Bord Bia, realised that workers on the frontline of the pandemic were unable to access supermarkets easily and no longer had time to prepare food. Manor Farm saw an opportunity to help frontline workers while also supporting the foodservice industry.

  To date, Feed the Heroes has raised over €750,000 and served over 36,000 meals. For further information on the Manor Farm initiative, see: www.chicken.ie/feedtheheroes.

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