Bord Bia has announced its return to trade show activity across Europe.

Bord Bia's events calendar is already planned across Europe this autumn, including a ministerial-led trade visit and an in-person trade fair in Germany.

While in-person events are getting back on track, virtual events will remain key to Bord Bia’s trade engagements.

Virtual trade meetings

The Prepared Consumer Foods Virtual Sourcing Fair takes place from 29 to 30 September.

Bord Bia and 68 Irish prepared consumer food companies, ranging from large-scale manufacturers to family businesses, will host over 350 virtual trade meetings with buyers from all across Ireland and Great Britain, including senior representatives from M&S Ireland, Aramark and Tesco.

The prepared consumer foods (PCF) sector accounts for over €2.5bn in agri-food exports.

The PCF category includes meal solutions, confectionary, non-alcoholic beverages, ingredients and value-added meat, seafood and horticulture.

Germany is Ireland’s fifth-largest export market for food and drink

Minister of State Martin Heydon will lead Bord Bia’s in-person trade visit to Anuga in Germany, which takes place in October.

Anuga, Cologne, remains one of the largest international trade shows and takes place every second year, while Germany is Ireland’s fifth-largest export market for food and drink.

This is the first in-person trade visit for the minister following the EU-UK trade agreement and the onset of COVID-19.

Eleven Irish food companies from across the meat and dairy sectors will participate at Anuga.

Structured engagements

Minister Heydon said: “Structured engagements, both virtual and in-person, are more important than ever. They offer a real opportunity to communicate the premium quality of Ireland’s food and drink offering, and to the benefit of all those along the supply chain, particularly farmers as our primary producers."

Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy said: “As the world reopens, the opportunity to meet face to face at international trade shows and drive business is incredibly important.”

Thirty-four percent of total Irish food and drink exports are traded in the EU.

Bord Bia is organising and co-ordinating the Irish presence at a host of other European trade fairs for retail and food service channels in the coming months across France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.