Ireland may be a major exporter of food, but every year the volume and variety of food imported into this country grows rapidly - and with it grows the problem of traceability.

Ear to the Ground (Monday, RT╔1, 8.30 p.m.) takes a look at the catering sector, which takes the bulk of the food imports, with imported meat making up a considerable part of the menus we all dine on in hotels and restaurants.

A new Bord Bia initiative to promote Irish food in the catering sector has had a limited take-up in hotels and restaurants, and there is still a heavy reliance on imports.

The programme also looks at how traditional fishing skills in Donegal have been combined with the latest technology to create a thriving mariculture industry, one that combines increased employment with local pride and award-winning products.

Some argue however that fish farming is harmful to the natural habitat and detrimental to water quality, particularly where monitoring is not properly carried out. Is this a fair accusation to level at an industry where there are substantial benefits to the locality?

Marconi was once Britain's largest and most famous manufacturing concern. Until last year, it was cheered by the City as its shares soared in value. Today, Marconi has become notorious as one of the worst disasters of British corporate history. The Money Programme (Wednesday, BBC2, 7.30 p.m.) investigates what went wrong.

China finalises its membership of the World Trade Organisation at a conference in Qatar next Friday - an event that has been heralded as one of the most significant economic happenings of the 21st century.

Everyone agrees that bringing the world's most populous country into the mainstream global economy is desirable, but Unreported World (Friday, Channel 4, 7.30 p.m.) reporter Jonathan Miller asks who is paying the price for China's fast-track economic growth?

mconway@irish-times.ie