Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed is leading a Bord Bia trade mission to North Africa this week. The mission, which left on Wednesday, will visit farms and dairy processors in Morocco and Algeria.

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Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Phil Hogan is on a "Tastes of Europe" trade mission to Vietnam and Indonesia this week. The EU has completed a free trade deal with Vietnam, which is expected to come into effect at the end of next year or early in 2018. The deal will allow exports of EU pork and beef as well as dairy products to Vietnam's 90m population.

In July, the EU opened trade negotiations with Indonesia. The next round of talks are to take place in January. It has been estimated that the middle-class in Indonesia grew from 37% in 2004 to nearly 57% in 2013.

The next EU trade mission is planned for Turkey before the end of the year, to increase access for live exports.

To round things off, Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen is currently in China on a trade mission.

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