Disease outbreaks a challenge for meat industry in 2025 - O'Toole

Adam Woods reports from the annual Bord Bia Meat Marketing Seminar in Naas, Co Kildare.

Adam Woods

17 January 2025

Disease outbreaks a challenge for meat industry in 2025 - O'Toole

It’s been a remarkably positive year for meat and meat exports with current indications that this positivity will continue into 2025.

Climate change and disease outbreaks were highlighted as challenges for the industry to overcome in 2025 by Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole at the Bord Bia Meat Marketing Seminar on Friday. His comments come against the backdrop of a foot-and-mouth outbreak in Germany and bluetongue disease on the continent and in England.

Climate change and disease outbreaks were highlighted as challenges for the industry to overcome in 2025 by Bord Bia CEO Jim O’Toole at the Bord Bia Meat Marketing Seminar on Friday.

His comments come against the backdrop of a foot-and-mouth outbreak in Germany and bluetongue disease on the continent and in England.

“Consumers need enhanced reassurance as to the environmental and animal welfare credentials of the meat that they consume and we are well placed to provide that evidence,” O'Toole said.

O’Toole also highlighted the high cost of doing business as being a real threat to meat markets in 2025.

Energy costs and labour costs were the two factors which were mentioned as being the most important in terms of the meat industry, with labour becoming increasingly hard to find in the meat sector.

The seminar is taking place in Nass, Co Kildare, this Friday and is the go to place for the industry to find out the facts and figures of all things meat in 2024 along with the challenges and opportunities in 2025 for the Irish meat sector.

Positive year

It’s been a remarkably positive year for meat and meat exports with current indications that this positivity will continue into 2025 on the back of increased global demand and declining global meat production.

Jim O'Toole pointed to a very positive 2024 for the Irish meat sector. Irish beef exports increased by 6% in 2024 with 47% of exports going to the UK and 46% going to the EU.

He also outlined some of the challenges for the meat sector. The incoming president of the USA, Donald Trump was highlighted as a concern in relation to his pledges to introduce trade tariffs in his first day of office.

In terms of opportunities he pointed to the global population expected to rise to 8.5 billion people by 2030 with middle classes making up 1.7 billion of global consumers.

Government

Opening the conference Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon said he hoped a new government could be formed in the Dáil next Wednesday, once party members ratified the programme for government over the weekend.

“Business needs certainty, farmers need certainty and consumers need certainty and certainty is found in a strong and stable government which I believe we have with the current proposals. The agri-food sector will be protected and supported as part of that programme," he said.