€3.75bn to be invested in food by 2020

UP TO €3.75bn will be invested in the Irish food sector over the coming six years as the industry ramps up production to capture increasing global demand.

A packed conference of agribusiness leaders and financiers in Dublin last week heard how private equity f unds and financiers are now required to meet the funding demands of a rapidly expanding sector.

Returns of more than 10pc are expected by this new wave of investors, according to Cathal Fitzgerald of Agrifood Business Partners, who were hosting the conference.

Approximately €1.25bn is expected to be invested this decade at farm level. But it is in downstream processing , where up to €2.5bn is expected to be invested by 2020, where the main foc us of outside investment lies.

Delegates heard from representatives from e ver y sector, along with presentations by Bord Bia and t he Department of Agriculture.

“Russia, Africa, the US and China are going to be the focus for trade missions this year,” said the secre tar y general of t he Department of Agriculture, Tom Moran.

“We like trade, so we’ ll be supporting multilateral agreements like the WTO and Mercosur. A deal with the US is now only a matter of time, probably next year.

“We believe it ’ ll open up €120bn of new trade for the EU. Access for our beef will be our starting position,” he said.

“Even with the likes of the Canadian trade agreement, where Europe has opened itself up to significant volumes of beef imports, there’ll be a sevenyear lead time on this during which there will be space for Ireland to develop its competitive advantage in other products such as dairy.”

Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter told the food leaders attending that Ireland was ahead of the curve on international food standards now t hat t he majority of farms in the country were being audited f or sustainability.

He also highlighted that Ireland’s wet climate was l i kel y to make us more competitive in the near future.

“The UN predic ts t hat two- t hi r ds of the world’s population will be living in parts of the world that are experiencing water stress,” he said.