Speaking at the ICOS national conference in Dublin this Tuesday, Hogan said that Irish and European farmers were well placed to meet the demand for better quality and more nutritious food from the 150 million people expected to join the global middle class every year until 2030.

He added: “I would like to take this opportunity to say that our meat products are among the very best in the world. My services and I have taken note of the recent WHO report, and we do not believe it will have any meaningful impact on sales of our high-quality, traceable meat products.”

Opportunity in Japan

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Hogan highlighted Asia as one of the main areas to achieve this growth, following the signature of an equivalency agreement with South Korea earlier this year and trade talks with Vietnam and Japan.

“Now that the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement between Asia and the US is over the line,” Hogan said, “I believe there is a real opportunity for a free trade agreement with Japan. This would generate huge prospects for the beef and grain sectors.”

He added that his “diplomatic offensive” to open new markets would start with a trade mission to Mexico and Colombia, and invited representatives of Irish co-ops gathered at the ICOS conference to join him among the 30 industry representatives expected to take part in the trip.