Aidan Cotter has been the top man in Bord Bia for more than half of its 22-year history. He was promoted to chief executive from operations director in Bord Bia in 2004.
So, what has Ireland’s main agri-food salesman achieved in his time leading the food marketing board?
Most recent figures from Bord Bia show that total food and drink exports have grown by around 50% since 2004, from €7.2bn to €10.8bn in 2015.
Broken down by sector, dairy exports have increased by over 90%, beef by 70% and pigmeat exports have more than doubled since 2004. Figures for 2015 show that poultry and sheepmeat exports have both increased by around 30% in the last 11 years.
After dairy and beef products, prepared food and drinks is Ireland’s third largest subsector for food exports. Prepared food and drink exports have increased by around 16% since Cotter became Bord Bia chief.
His legacy project, Origin Green, is intended to take Ireland’s agri-food industry through the next global challenge, which is climate change targets. The initiative has received attention from both neighbouring and distant countries who are aiming to replicate similar schemes to promote sustainable food production.
On Irish farms, a memory of Cotter’s tenure will inevitably be the introduction of quality assurance schemes across sectors. In general, the schemes have had a high cost and have not yet delivered a sufficient margin for primary producers.
Read more
Aidan Cotter’s long goodbye
Who is new Bord Bia chief Tara McCarthy?
Aidan Cotter has been the top man in Bord Bia for more than half of its 22-year history. He was promoted to chief executive from operations director in Bord Bia in 2004.
So, what has Ireland’s main agri-food salesman achieved in his time leading the food marketing board?
Most recent figures from Bord Bia show that total food and drink exports have grown by around 50% since 2004, from €7.2bn to €10.8bn in 2015.
Broken down by sector, dairy exports have increased by over 90%, beef by 70% and pigmeat exports have more than doubled since 2004. Figures for 2015 show that poultry and sheepmeat exports have both increased by around 30% in the last 11 years.
After dairy and beef products, prepared food and drinks is Ireland’s third largest subsector for food exports. Prepared food and drink exports have increased by around 16% since Cotter became Bord Bia chief.
His legacy project, Origin Green, is intended to take Ireland’s agri-food industry through the next global challenge, which is climate change targets. The initiative has received attention from both neighbouring and distant countries who are aiming to replicate similar schemes to promote sustainable food production.
On Irish farms, a memory of Cotter’s tenure will inevitably be the introduction of quality assurance schemes across sectors. In general, the schemes have had a high cost and have not yet delivered a sufficient margin for primary producers.
Read more
Aidan Cotter’s long goodbye
Who is new Bord Bia chief Tara McCarthy?
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