Coveney marked the first day of his trade mission to west Africa on Monday 30 November with a number of promotional events for Irish companies in the agri-food sector in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

The Minister also held a bilateral meeting with his newly-appointed Nigerian counterpart, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, HE Chief Audu Ogbeh.

Speaking to our markets specialist Phelim O'Neill, who travelled on the trade mission, Coveney said Nigeria presents a huge opportunity for the Irish agri-sector.

"It is the largest economy and population in Africa by far, and the country that imports the most food by far," Coveney said. He added that Nigeria's growing middle class means the country's population is estimated to grow by 5m people every year.

"That is the population of Ireland," Coveney said. "By 2050, the population is expected to rise to about 400m."

According to the minister, Ireland currently exports about €195m worth of food and drink to Nigeria every year - this figure rises to €295m when the activities of Guinness in the country are taken into account.

Department of Agriculture figures show that most of the €195m is attributed to Irish dairy exports, which were worth over €140m in 2014. This figure is up 50% on 2010 figures and marks Nigeria as a market greater in size than the US for Irish dairy exports.

No meat is currently exported at the moment into the country at the moment. But Coveney said that Nigeria "could be an exciting beef market" and he is working on opening this market for Irish meat farmers.

Chinese are serious about importing beef

On the opening of the Chinese market, Coveney said that China is "serious" about opening its import market to Irish beef.

"I am confident we will see Irish beef in China, if not in the first quarter of 2016, certainly in the second quarter," he told our markets specialist.

He added that two organisations from China, one related to food safety and one related to food quarantine, will be coming to Ireland to carry out a final inspection of plants and factories, hopefully before the end of 2015.

Listen to Phelim O'Neill's full interview with Minister Simon Coveney in Nigeria below