Following the announcement that enhanced access for Irish beef to Saudi Arabia has been secured, there are now fresh hopes that Irish sheepmeat could follow suit.

Speaking in Riyadh on Sunday, Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed confirmed that positive steps have been taken towards getting approval for Irish sheepmeat.

“We were invited, upon request, to pursue the sheepmeat market in Saudi Arabia. This is a significant market and we look forward to pursuing that market,” Minister Creed said.

Irish lamb tastes different to local lamb as the Irish product has a higher fat content and there would appear to be interest in the product.

The minister held high-level talks with the executive president of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) Professor Dr Hisham Saad Aljadhey on Sunday morning. After the talks, Minister Creed announced that “enhanced access for Irish beef to Saudi” had been secured.

Mission

The minister, along with Bord Bia, is leading a trade mission to the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The trade mission runs from Sunday to Friday and will take in the large Gulfoods trade exhibitions in Dubai.

Also on the first day of the trade mission, Minister Creed visited Ornua’s €20m Al Wazeen cheese plant east of Riyadh while he also launched Green Isle Food’s entry into the Saudi market with its Goodfella’s pizza brand.

Irish dairy products are unrivalled in terms of quality and are prized in markets over the world

While at the Al Wazeen visit, the minister described the dairy sector as the “jewel in the crown” of the Irish agriculture sector and predicted significant growth. He also highlighted the need to drive exports to new markets in the wake of Brexit.

“Irish dairy products are unrivalled in terms of quality and are prized in markets over the world ... In 2016, Ireland exported dairy products to over 130 countries. Against the backdrop of our efforts to significantly increase dairy output and grow the sector, export market diversification is obviously of the upmost importance and this is particularly true in the context of a post-Brexit scenario,” Minister Creed said.

You can follow the Gulf states trade mission daily on the Irish Farmers Journal app available to download from the iTunes and Android stores

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