Bord Bia is to spend €10 million in a major marketing drive over the next three years promoting Irish beef across Europe.
The initial campaign, which will cost €3 million, will see promotions in 8,000 shops across nine countries, targeting 40 million customers of 30 supermarket groups. These operate in Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and here.
Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan said the campaign will run from September to November this year to boost the €1.4 billion beef export sector.
Aidan Cotter, chief executive of Bord Bia, said the high-visibility campaign would involve a spend of €3 million this autumn on direct promotions in stores, featuring offers of holidays to Ireland, kitchenware, recipe books and calendars, as well as television and radio advertising.
He explained that in 2001, Ireland exported 72,000 tonnes of beef to continental Europe and that this had doubled to 174,000 tonnes last year, and now more than 30 retail groups there listed Irish beef.
He said Ireland had to increase its continental markets because Irish beef would be displaced from Britain, our largest market, when British farmers are allowed to sell animals over 30 months old into the home market. British farmers had been banned from doing this due to BSE fears, but they hope this restriction will be lifted before the end of the year.
Market analysis had shown that consumers liked the taste of Irish beef, and the idea that it was produced from grass gave Irish exporters an advantage which they should exploit, he said.
Angela Kennedy, chairwoman of Bord Bia, said Ireland was now the largest export supplier within the EU and the largest net exporter in the northern hemisphere.
"Irish companies are major suppliers across Europe and now have the best portfolio of retail accounts of any food sector in Ireland," she said.
Mr Cotter said the fact Ireland was able to roll out such a highly visible campaign for Irish beef was a vote of confidence by European retailers.
The task now, he said, was to increase sales, build loyalty and begin to establish a stronger brand presence for Irish beef using such mechanisms as the co-branding of Irish beef with the major supermarkets.
At the launch, the Minister announced that the Irish Hotels Federation, the Restaurants Association of Ireland and the catering trade had agreed to adopt a voluntary code of identifying the source of beef pending the introduction of mandatory labelling before the end of the year.
Ms Coughlan said she had brought the issue of labelling beef to Cabinet in June last and the legislation amending the 1947 Health Acts would be introduced by Minister for Health Mary Harney early in the new Dáil session. Talks were ongoing with the Vintners' Association on adopting the voluntary code, and she would extend the mandatory labelling to poultry as quickly as she could.
The farm organisations welcomed the move yesterday.