Annual Report 2009
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
OUR MISSION
To grow the success of a world class Irish food and horticulture
industry by providing strategic market development, promotion
and information services.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
To deliver on its mission, Bord Bia’s programmes and
activities focus on the following strategic priorities:
Q
Promoting Ireland – the Sustainable Food Island
Q
Delivering business development initiatives to
broaden export reach
Q
Enhancing the position of Irish food, drink and
horticulture on the Irish market
Q
Driving customer focused innovation through
market knowledge
Q
Pursuing a repositioning and differentiation
strategy for Irish meat
Q
Supporting a dynamic and growth oriented
Small Business sector
CONTENTS
Our business
Our governance
Our accounts
02 Food and Drinks Industry
42 Corporate Statement
04 Export Figures
45 Statement on Internal
Financial Control
52 Report of the Comptroller
and Auditor General
06 Chairman’s Statement
12 Chief Executive’s Review
20 Meat and Livestock
24 Consumer Foods, Dairy
and Beverages
28 Small Business and
Organic Sectors
32 Horticulture
46 Organisation Structure
56 Income and Expenditure Account
47 Staff Structure
57 Statement of Total Recognised
Gains and Losses
48 Bord Bia Board
49 Bord Bia Consumer Foods Board
49 Bord Bia Meat and Livestock Board
50 Bord Bia Quality Assurance Board
50 Bord Bia Horticulture Board
36 Quality Assurance
38 Services
Presentation to the Minister for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In accordance with Section 22 of An Bord Bia
Act 1994, the Board is pleased to submit to the
Minister its Annual Report and Accounts for the
12 months ending 31 December 2009.
Dan Browne Chairman
54 Statement of Accounting Policies
58 Balance Sheet
59 Cash Flow Statement
60 Notes Forming Part of the
Financial Statements
71 Marketing Finance Grant
Payments 2009
Food and Drinks Industry
Supports almost 270,000 jobs
Annual output valued at €24 billion
Represents 16 per cent of industrial output
Sources more than 70 per cent of its inputs
domestically compared with 30 per cent
for manufacturing in general
2009 exports valued at €7.1 billion
Represents 9 per cent of merchandise
exports
Accounts for 64 per cent of manufacturing
exports by indigenous companies
Export Figures
2009 (p)
Food and Drink Exports by Category (€m)
2008
Livestock
Sheepmeat
Poultry
Ed. Hort & Cereals
Seafood
Pigmeat
Beverages
Prepared Foods
Beef
Dairy
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Exports of Irish Food and Drink (€m)
Market Distribution of Irish
Food and Drink Exports (%)
2008
2009
(p)
2009/2008
% +/-
Dairy
2,290
1,975
-14
Beef
1,590
1,397
-12
Prepared Foods
1,494
1,296
-13
Beverages
1,237
1,060
-14
Seafood
335
315
-6
Poultry
204
183
-10
Pigmeat
354
290
-18
Edible Horticulture & Cereals
265
198
-25
Sheepmeat
167
164
-2
Live Animals
148
213
+44
8,084
7,094
-12
TOTAL
(p) = 2009 figures are estimated
International
Markets
20%
United
Kingdom
46%
Other EU
34%
Chairman’s Statement
The Irish food and horticulture industry is frequently, and correctly, identified as our
largest indigenous industry. In 2009, it also proved itself to be one of our most robust.
By any reckoning, the set of circumstances presented by 2009 were extraordinary,
arguably without parallel in Ireland’s economic history. Deteriorating demand
internationally, enormous pressure on retail prices at home and abroad, and
a surge in strength from the Euro against Sterling created a backdrop against
which a decline in the value of Irish food and drink exports was inevitable.
That fall back in exports amounted to
just under €1 billion, a decline of 12
per cent leaving total exports standing
at almost €7.1 billion. However,
when factors such as the weakness of
Sterling and price deflation are taken
into account, the estimated volume
decline was just three per cent, a
highly credible performance in such
conditions.
The impact of the economic
downturn and the consequent
realignment in shopping patterns
was, of course, not unique to Ireland
or Irish suppliers and has been felt
around the world. However, it was
undoubtedly amplified domestically
by a range of concerns local to us.
Nevertheless, while the headline
figures note decline, the underlying
story of the food and drink industry
was undoubtedly one of proactive
resolution, and a competitive
performance never more in evidence.
In addition to presenting cost
reductions to retail and foodservice,
and reformulating the offer to
consumers, industry responded with
new approaches to distribution,
logistics and other areas of cost
management, and by prioritising
strategically important businesses at
the expense of lower margin ones.
While the best reward for such effort
was often simply to sustain volume at
the expense of value, it was testament
to the industry’s determination to
confront these most adverse of
market conditions head on.
1
2
3
4
1
Pictured at Bord Bia’s UK Retail & Currency Seminar in February were (from left) Finn Cottle,
former Retail Buyer and Marketing & Strategy Director, Noble Foods; Mark Thomson, Consumer
Insight Director, Kantar and Beatrice Blake, Manager, Bord Bia London
2
Pictured at the launch of Bord Bia’s Marketing Fellowship Programme were Mairead Cassidy with
(from left) Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia; Tom Begley, Dean, UCD Smurfit School of Business; Dan
Browne, Chairman, Bord Bia and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD
DECLINE IN THE UK
The UK, as Ireland’s principal export
destination for food and drink, plays
a central role in any assessment of
2009. Britain accounted for 46 per
cent of Ireland’s total exports, worth
just over €3.2 billion. Although a
significant figure, it represented a
decline in value of some 12 per cent
on 2008 – reflective of the scale of the
challenges experienced. Fluctuations
between the Euro and Sterling have
always presented an element of risk
in trade between the two regions
and the Irish food sector is more
exposed than most as our exports
are, in percentage terms, a multiple
of four to five times greater than
any other Eurozone nation’s. At the
close of 2009, with Sterling some 30
per cent weaker than it had been at
the start of 2008, the estimated cost
to Irish exports was in the region of
€400m. A survey of industry attitudes
in December 2009, undertaken by
3
A group of Michelin Star Chefs from the Netherlands,
all members of Bord Bia’s Chefs Irish Beef Club, paid
a visit to Cliff House Hotel, Waterford during a visit
to Ireland in July
4
Darina Allen, Ballymaloe House, Cork
Bord Bia, found that 86 per cent of
respondents identified it as a major
issue to their business (as compared
to 78 per cent in 2008).
Deteriorating UK economic conditions
also made the difficulties increasingly
pronounced as the year progressed,
so that, while in January 2009, Irish
exports were just 5 per cent down
year-on-year, by October 2009, they
were 20 per cent down. The impact
of recession on consumer behaviour in
the UK, meanwhile, effectively curtailed
the capacity of suppliers to secure any
compensating price increase.
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE
EUROZONE
The share of Irish exports destined
for other EU markets, essentially the
Eurozone, increased to almost 34 per
cent in 2009. Assisted by a higher
proportion of beef exports destined
for the Continent, and a concerted
DAN BROWNE
CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
[CONTINUED]
marketing effort by Ireland’s prepared
foods manufacturers, the year, while
difficult, provided a signpost for future
opportunity. Total value of exports to
the region declined by some 8 per
cent, although strong performances in
markets such as France, Scandinavia
and Italy demonstrated the ability of
the industry to navigate new routes to
market quickly and effectively in the
midst of challenge.
Regrettably, the weakening of Sterling
added the further complication (as
it did in the domestic market) of UK
competitors being effectively handed
a major cost advantage.
OUTSIDE EUROPE
Beyond Europe, the news continued
to be one of challenge, weakening
demand and declining sales. Supplies
to non-EU international markets,
which account for 20 per cent of total
Irish exports, were also impacted by
currency decline, in this case the US
Dollar. The steepest falls were seen in
those areas where it is the dominant
currency. Meanwhile, the value of
Ireland’s exports to international
markets fell by 15 per cent to €2
billion, adversely affected by a
weakened global dairy market. Exports
of alcoholic beverages, a significant
component of our third country trade,
suffered from the general cutback in
consumer spending, declining in the
order of 14 per cent overall.
SECTORAL ANALYSIS
A sector-by-sector assessment
of Ireland’s performance in 2009
confirms these patterns.
Ireland’s meat and livestock sector now
represents our single most important
food export, accounting for 32 per
cent of total exports, with an estimated
value of €2.25 billion in 2009. This
represented a year-on-year decline of 9
per cent in value, attributable to both
volume and price reductions, weaker
Sterling and a switch to lower value
cuts among consumers.
The value of beef exports fell by 12
per cent, a figure largely reflective
of the lower returns from the UK.
However, the buoyancy of the live
export trade was in marked contrast,
bucking the trend of decline and
witnessing an increase in value of 40
per cent over 2009.
Though volumes held up well for the
poultry industry, pressure on prices
saw their value decline by 10 per cent
to €183m over the year. Sheepmeat,
in contrast, performed solidly, largely
maintaining 2008 volumes and sales
of €164m. The pork industry was
forced to fight an inevitable rearguard
action in the aftermath of the recall
of December 2008. Following the
removal of number of pig herds from
the system which resulted in a lower
availability of supplies for export, and
significantly weaker demand in the
main European and International
import markets, the value of pigmeat
exports declined by 18 per cent. Bord
Bia, along with the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and
the embassies, worked intensively
over the year towards the reopening
of markets which had been shut in
the aftermath of the recall. A notable
success was the announcement by
the Russian Federation of its decision
to reopen its €12m market for Irish
pigmeat, to meat produced from 1
February 2010, in the coming year.
In the dairy sector, the value of exports
fell by an estimated 14 per cent yearon-year to €1.98 billion. However,
a combination of lower milk output
and increased use of intervention
storage contributed some €150m of
this decline. Weakening international
prices were another contributory factor,
although strong performances were
seen in the infant formula and, to a
lesser extent, cheese and chocolate
crumb categories, highlighting the
role of a sustained commitment to
R&D and the added value chain.
Exports of prepared foods faced
a particularly challenging market
environment as consumer behaviour
retrenched, particularly in the key
UK market. The development of
new markets in Continental Europe
can, however, be noted as a positive
consequence with long-term strategic
value. Exports were, in total, 13 per
cent down on 2008, standing at
almost €1.3 billion. Slower consumer
spending and a noticeable shift
towards value propositions also saw
beverage exports fall by 14 per cent
to €1.06 billion globally. The strongest
performing category within the sector
continued to be whiskey, testament to
the enduring provenance of Ireland’s
heritage brands.
Bord Bia assumed the marketing and
promotion function for Irish seafood,
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
[CONTINUED]
previously under the remit of BIM, from
June 2009. Over the year, the value of
seafood exports was 6 per cent lower,
at €315m, with lower demand in the
UK and poorer weather conditions
in the final quarter of 2009 affecting
supplies. However, increased sales
were noted in mackerel with exports
to Nigeria, Germany, Egypt, Denmark
and Poland reflecting the higher
quota available to Irish fishermen.
Edible horticulture and cereal exports
fell by 25 per cent in 2008 to €198m,
mainly as a result of lower cereal
exports. Against this, the mushroom
sector demonstrated considerable
resilience, showing only a marginal
decline in sales, particularly impressive
given the predominance of the UK
market.
A SUPPORTING ROLE
Behind these statistics are, of course,
harsh realities at home – and the
impact to Irish farmers, employees
and entrepreneurs, for whom the
food and drink industry is not just a
statistic but the source of employment
and family security. The challenges
of rationalisation, cost-cutting and
the ongoing credit crunch had very
real repercussions for the industry in
2009. Bord Bia has been determined,
throughout 2009 and beyond, to
play the strongest possible supporting
role, facilitating industry as it reviews
strategies, defends market share and,
through our international network of
expertise, identifies opportunities for
growth, particularly in the Eurozone
markets, where currency volatility is
not an issue.
Throughout 2009, Bord Bia’s overseas
offices played a further important role
in facilitating that strategic response.
Recognising the value of additional
resources at this critical time, the
launch of the first Marketing Fellowship
programme, which saw 25 experienced
business graduates placed in twelve
overseas markets, was particularly
timely and, ultimately, delivered
some 168 commercial assignments
on behalf of 113 Irish companies. It
was, by any measure, an outstanding
success and a second programme has
now been launched for 2010. It is an
excellent model of how innovative and
cost-effective thinking can transform
the market intelligence capability not
just of Bord Bia but the entire industry.
Closer to home, the role of the Brand
Forum in supporting the branded
route to market for Irish companies
gained new impetus and relevance
in 2009, while Bord Bia’s Innovation
programmes, particularly the
Foresight4food initiative, continued
to facilitate the New Product
Development needs of food, drink
and horticulture clients, particularly
those determined to ‘innovate their
way out of recession’.
For smaller businesses, Bord Bia’s
commitment to supporting a dynamic
and growth oriented strategy
continued to find expression through
the evolving Vantage suite of services.
Bloom, our annual celebration of Irish
horticulture and gardening creativity,
surpassed all visitor expectations in
2009 and has become a keynote event
on the nation’s summer calendar.
WORLD PERFORMANCE
The Irish food, drink and horticulture
industry’s track record has been
one of growth built on innovation,
entrepreneurship and marketing
excellence. We have long since
moved away from the proposition of
commodity supply and there can be
no slippage in that position. This is an
industry of world-class credentials and
an impressive global footprint. There
is little doubt it has the resources and
the resourcefulness to recover rapidly
in the right circumstances. In addition,
the opportunity to play a major role
in our island’s economic regeneration
over the coming decade, particularly
in the context of the emerging ‘smart
economy’, is increasingly recognised
both within and outside the sector.
A recent independent study of
Europe’s leading retailers, undertaken
on behalf of Bord Bia, found Ireland
strongly identified as an island
with significant advantages in food
production, from abundant grasslands
and high animal welfare standards
through to firm commitments on food
safety and efficient logistical processes.
Bord Bia is currently developing a
marketing and promotional framework
that will ensure we continue to build
credibly on this reputation. A lifecycle analysis of Irish beef production,
informing an environmental audit of
Quality Assured farms, are among the
projects that will bear fruit in 2010,
with a view to incorporating these
environmental credentials into the
Beef Quality Assurance scheme and
into marketing and promotion.
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
[CONTINUED]
Future opportunities for Ireland, the
Food Island, become more apparent
when the projected escalation in the
world population is considered. By
2030, the planet will need to produce
over 40 per cent more food, making
the challenges of sustainability at once
more difficult and more necessary.
Ireland’s ability and opportunity to
be at the coalface of this cannot be
underestimated. Taking such factors
into account, Bord Bia set itself
strategic priorities to respond to the
new market challenges.
Broader policy issues with the
potential to shape the future
direction of the Irish agri-food sector
continued to be important. While WTO
discussions remain stalled, bilateral
discussions between trading partners
have grown in significance. In relation
to the CAP, work in advance of the
2013 review is also continuing and the
need to maintain the Irish agricultural
supply base remains a critical priority
not just for the farming community
but the broader food and drink sector.
PROSPECTS FOR 2010
Looking to the prospects for the year
ahead, much will depend on the
future trajectory in Sterling and the
timeline for a recovery in consumer
demand in the UK. In the meantime,
trading conditions will continue to
remain very challenging in our largest
export market. The increased focus
by suppliers on the opportunities in
Continental Europe must, therefore,
remain a priority in 2010.
The challenges of the deepest recession
in living memory are not over but the
experience of 2009 confirmed that a
focused and strategic approach is an
essential component of our response.
In 2010, Bord Bia will continue to work
with industry, playing a coordinating
and supporting role as the challenges
of broadening export reach and
recovering market share are met.
On behalf of Bord Bia, I would like
to thank all those who have worked
with us over the year. In particular, can
I thank the Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food Brendan Smith
T.D.; the former Minister for Food and
Horticulture Trevor Sargent T.D.; Tony
Killeen T.D., Minister of State at the
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food; Tom Moran, Secretary
General, and his officials and staff
at the Department of Agriculture
Fisheries and Food for their continued
and welcome support.
Within Bord Bia, the role played by
our Board members has been hugely
important and has undoubtedly
contributed to the ability of the
organisation to respond positively
and confidently to the challenges our
industry faced. Finally, I would like to
thank Chief Executive Aidan Cotter
and his team for their continued
dedication to the vision of an Irish
food, drink and horticulture industry
of world-class credentials and global
reach and reputation. Their continued
commitment to delivering services
of value and significance to the Irish
food, drink and horticulture industry
will undoubtedly be one of the few
certainties of 2010.
1
1
An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen
pictured at Bord Bia’s Irish
Meat Seminar in Japan,
January 2009
2
The Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food Brendan
Smith TD pictured at Bloom
2009 with Tim Austen, overall
large garden category winner
2
Chief Executive’s Review
2009 IN CONTEXT
The sharp contraction in global
economic activity which followed the
financial crisis plunged many countries
into recession, reducing consumer
demand and prompting many to amend
their purchasing decisions. The response
of the Irish food and horticulture industry
to this weaker demand and changing
consumer requirements was made
all the more difficult by the sustained
decline in Sterling.
The industry responded to these
challenges and demonstrated its
resilience with companies critically
reviewing their cost base, product
offerings, routes to market,
innovation, re-branding and
broadening their export reach.
With current market challenges
remaining unabated in the medium
term, growing the success of the food
and horticulture industry will continue
to be demanding. It requires a deep
understanding of market dynamics.
Combining that understanding with
efficient customer service and deep
trading relationships will result in new
levels of business development success.
Of particular significance in 2009
was the balancing of the shorter
term requirement for sales with the
strategic marketing investment needed
in consumer-led innovation to ensure
sustained competitive advantage in
markets over the medium term.
Bord Bia’s immediate priorities in
2009 focused on the combination
of the more urgent actions needed
in response to the Dioxin crisis,
sustained Sterling pressure and
the requirement to drive Eurozone
business for diversification. Bord Bia
also continued its strategic market
development priorities of consumerled product innovation, sustainability
and environmental credentials
development and repositioning
into premium segments.
PROMOTING IRELAND THE
SUSTAINABLE FOOD ISLAND
We believe that our industry has a
real opportunity to take a leadership
position in relation to environmental
sustainability as markets increasingly
begin to factor the consequences of
climate change into their businesses.
Our industry has a highly regarded,
long track record as a source of natural
food and horticulture rooted in the
custodianship of hardworking family
farms. This is a natural advantage we
can exploit to give competitive edge.
The sustainability agenda is crucial
for the future of the industry.
Sourcing procedures in an era
of dwindling resources requires
an alignment by manufacturers
to the sustainability agenda of
customers.
1
2
1
Pictured at the launch of Bord Bia’s
Quality Mark TV campaign (from
left) Tim Cullinan, Chairman of the
IFA Pigs and Pigmeat Committee;
Teresa Brophy, Ireland Market
Manager, Bord Bia and Ray Carolan,
Chairman of Bord Bia’s Meat and
Livestock Board
3
2
Bord Bia’s third Brand Forum event of 2009 took place in May in Fallon &
Byrne, Dublin. The event focused on product, brand and business innovation.
Pictured at the event (from left) were Una Fitzgibbon, Director Marketing
Services, Bord Bia; John Fanning, Brand Forum chairman and John Noonan,
outgoing Brand Forum chairman
3
Bord Bia coordinated the participation of thirty food and drink companies
at Anuga 2009, one of the world’s largest food trade fairs, which took
place in Cologne, Germany
The sustainability agenda is crucial for
the future of the industry. Sourcing
procedures in an era of dwindling
resources requires an alignment by
manufacturers to the sustainability
agenda of customers. It also assists
greatly with keeping costs in check
as well as assisting customers to
respond to volatility and shortages. It
assists customers on their journey to
supplying sustainable food solutions
to increasingly aware consumers.
Sustainability is becoming an
increasingly important issue in the
marketplace and although Ireland’s
natural advantages of grass based
and sustainable production systems
are obvious to us, we must be able
to prove and demonstrate this in
the marketplace.
At the heart of building comparative
advantage for a diverse Irish food
and horticulture industry is working
towards a substantiated, evidence
based positioning of Ireland as a
highly sustainable food source. That
is, food which meets and exceeds
the trade and emerging consumer
demand for low environmental
impact. Promoting Irish food and
horticulture is core to our remit and
driving an internationally recognised
trade position for Irish food and drink
continued as our central aim in 2009.
During 2009 we continued to monitor
the growing interest in sustainability
among consumers, non-governmental
organisations, policy makers and
retail trading partners in our core
markets. We engaged in research
to determine what retailers and
manufacturers are doing in this area
4
4
Kerry Food’s Cheestrings won the Born
Global award (outstanding performance
in challenging export markets) at Bord
Bia’s Food and Drink Industry Day 2009.
Pictured at the event were Eabha Last
(6) with Dan Browne, Chairman, Bord
Bia and Denis O’Riordan, Marketing
Director, Kerry Foods Cheese
AIDAN COTTER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
and more particularly, what their
expectations are for Ireland, the Food
Island. In 2009 we incorporated a
sustainability award into our Food
and Drink Industry Awards, we
positioned sustainability messaging
into our international advertising and
communications and we invested in
a life cycle analysis of key Irish food
categories, commencing with beef.
This marked the continuation of
our sustainability communications
journey in line with the emerging
demands of key customer groups.
We are committed to an industry
wide inclusive approach to the
development of positioning and
marketing of Ireland, the Food Island
as a sustainable food source.
In 2009 the international trade priority
of key performance indicators for
suppliers changed with price emerging
as the dominant priority in the
hallmark year of a deflationary period
in most markets. Notwithstanding
this, performance on sustainability
credentials are still important and
will re-emerge as a fundamental key
performance measure for suppliers
with international market recovery.
DELIVERING BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES TO
BROADEN EXPORT REACH
Export growth is central to our
successful food and horticulture
industry and competitive performance
to retain and grow sales was critical
in 2009. Defending sales positions
in the UK (our single largest export
market) was in particular a key
priority for industry. Deflationary
pressures combined with a continued
weakening of Sterling alongside a
necessity to compete with cheaper
Sterling supplies in Eurozone markets
led to a value decline in exports of
12 per cent from €8 billion to €7.1
billion. Yet export volumes of food
and horticulture only contracted by
3 per cent during the year, reflecting
the relative success of sales retention
albeit at lower prices, in a tough
trading environment.
In 2009 we supported industry by
boosting targeted trade marketing
initiatives in the UK to defend and
grow sales positions. We continued
our marketplace roadshow focused
on Eurozone trade customers for
diversification. Our participation at 18
trade fairs supported an integrated
approach to business development
by industry in the UK, Europe and
Asia. Our entire business development
support initiatives were significantly
enhanced through the application of
25 experienced, mature, international
graduates charged with driving the
commercial sales of more than 113
export driven firms through 168
turnkey trade development projects
in 12 markets through our new
fellowship programme. In addition a
trade advertising campaign through
targeted print and digital media in
10 markets reminded key customers
about the benefits and values of
Ireland as a food trading partner.
ENHANCING THE POSITION
OF IRISH FOOD, DRINK AND
HORTICULTURE ON THE IRISH
MARKET
The Irish market is the foundation
of sales success for the industry. This
is particularly the case for smaller
businesses and for horticulture who
are uniquely dependent on Ireland
as a key market for their output.
Many of our food and drink brands
resonate in the hearts and minds of
Irish consumers and offer a unique
food proposition to visiting tourists
whose expenditure on food and
beverages reached €2.3 billion in
2009. The production of Irish food
and horticulture and its consumption
in Ireland by Irish people and by
visitors to Ireland is central to Ireland
as a Sustainable Food Island. This
also plays a critical role in protecting
our food security which is exposed
with the volatility in energy and
food commodity supplies worldwide
alongside the uncertain impact of
climate change.
In 2009 our enhanced investment in
the marketing of quality farm food
and horticulture through Quality
Mark advertising, sponsorship and
promotion and through generic
advertising such as our Just Ask, Best
in Season, Strawberry Week, Organic
Good for Nature Good for You and
Food Dudes campaigns combined to
provide an integrated support for food
consumption from home at home.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
DRIVING CONSUMER FOCUSSED
INNOVATION THROUGH
MARKET KNOWLEDGE
In a national and international market
largely occupied by consolidating
points of trade purchase in further
processing, foodservice and food retail
routes to market, relating directly to
consumers through innovation is crucial
for comparative advantage. So too
is the reduction of costly risk in the
introduction of new products to market
through a consumer validation process.
In 2009 we continued to invest in new
consumer research to inspire, develop,
test and validate new product
opportunities for the industry. We
refreshed our consumer lifestyle trends
from over 40 markets worldwide
and we worked in partnership
with industry on the application of
consumer knowledge for new product
realisation using consumer groups to
validate concept development with
our foresight4food service.
Continual innovation is a key feature
of the food industry and supplying
food solutions to the trade to meet
and exceed consumer expectations is
at the heart of strategic competitive
advantage for our industry.
PURSUING A REPOSITIONING
AND DIFFERENTIATION
STRATEGY FOR IRISH MEAT
While we played a leading crisis
management role in the response
to the dioxin crisis early in 2009, our
key measure throughout 2009 was in
working to mitigate market closure
and to assist in reopening markets
for meat in strategic territories
internationally which have now been
largely achieved.
Notwithstanding our successful and
critical short term response to Dioxin,
working with industry, we continued to
make progress towards a differentiated
and premium position for meat helping
to secure and expand our share of
premium segments in 2009. Over 30
new premium listings were achieved
within multiple and foodservice
routes to market during the year.
This illustrates the very real progress
being made in the premiumisation of
Irish meat for consumer appeal and
growth in our main markets.
It has been a challenging period for the
Irish meat industry, yet it has recorded
significant progress in 2009. This has
been achieved through a combination
of deeper trading partner relationship
management, public relations,
advertising and consumer promotions.
SUPPORTING A DYNAMIC AND
GROWTH-ORIENTED SMALL
BUSINESS SECTOR
Small food businesses act as a critical
custodian of the image of Ireland
the Food Island and are central to
our international public relations and
communications.
In addition this group of companies
are the bedrock of the industry’s
future. Nurturing the early growth and
market development of these firms at
home and abroad is a key measure of
our success.
In 2009 over 350 small food firms
availed of our Vantage suite of
services. Our online Vantage point
web based marketing resource guide
for owner/managers continues to
attract 13,000 web based interactions
from our small business community
who engage with us and with each
other collaboratively taking ownership
of their own growth potential.
It is their dynamism upon which our
industry relies for its future and we
welcome and respect food business
entrepreneurs as innovators and as
creators of economic wealth for rural
areas individually and as a group. We
monitor and support these firms and
take particular pride in their revenue,
export and employment expansion.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Bord Bia Marketing Fellowship
Programme 2009/2010, with the aims
of broadening our export reach and
accelerating the marketing and sales
performance of Irish food and drink
exports in the UK, EU and international
markets was initiated in October 2009.
The Fellowship Programme was a
new and important initiative. Under
the programme Bord Bia recruited
and placed 25 graduates, already
with upwards of three years work
experience, into twelve overseas
markets, covering the UK, Europe,
Russia, the United States, and Asia.
They are working on 168 commercial
assignments for 113 Irish exporters
while also meeting the rigorous
disciplines of the UCD Smurfit School
of Business from which they receive
a Masters degree. This programme
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
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will bring renewed energy, vitality and
fresh thinking while adding further
momentum to the search for new
markets, new opportunities, and
most of all new business for Irish
food and drink.
Marketplace Roadshows in Spain
and Scandinavia facilitated 18 Irish
companies to have one-to-one
meetings with retail, foodservice,
industrial and distribution buyers.
Throughout 2009 our offices have
responded to, and arranged a greater
number of buyer presentations and
meetings as well as attending to
an increased number of enquiries.
One-to-one mentoring sessions took
place as part of the Bord Bia UK Retail
Excel Programme with a particular
focus on innovation. Other Excel
and Vantage workshops focused
on successful negotiations, business
planning, pricing, market intelligence,
understanding the UK retail market,
selling in recessionary times, supply
chain management and distribution.
Bord Bia’s ninth Food and Drink
Industry Day provided a forum for
industry to meet with our overseas
personnel. Our international network
of offices plays a critical part in Bord
Bia’s role in promoting Irish food and
horticulture. Our overseas personnel
sustain and develop relationships with
existing and potential customers. This
network of contacts is a key asset
which we can leverage on behalf of
exporters. PERIscope 2009, the fifth
‘wave’ in a series of research which
looked at eating, shopping and
cooking in the Republic of Ireland,
Northern Ireland and the UK was
presented. The results of a project
examining the strategies of British
companies who have successfully
established themselves on Continental
European markets were also presented
at Food Industry Day. Seminars on
benchmarking distribution in Europe,
leadership in challenging times, the
economic outlook and a tour of new
consumer food trends identified
through research were also part
of the programme on the day.
in 2009. In the Autumn an integrated
Quality Mark campaign was launched
with the revised aim of increasing
consumer understanding of the Bord
Bia Quality Mark and to explain to
consumers what the Quality Mark
means in terms of the level of care
and attention required to produce
quality assured traceable food. The
range of products, Beef, Pork and
Bacon, Chicken, Eggs and Horticulture
included in the quality assurance
schemes were used in this campaign.
BORD BIA FOOD & DRINK
INDUSTRY AWARDS 2009
Promotional campaigns for Quality
Assured meat and eggs targeted
consumers through a range of
promotions by broadcast advertising
on national television and radio,
public relations, outdoor print media
and in-store activity as well as digital
media including online advertising
and social media.
Bord Bia’s biennial Food and Drink
Industry Awards attracted 135
entries across the 7 categories of
Born Global – the export award;
Consumer Focus – the innovation
award; Environmental Enrichment
– the sustainable company award;
Home Grown – the home market
award: New Perspectives – the
repositioning award; Spotlight –
the excellence in branding award;
and Thinking Big – the small
business award. Judged by an expert
independent panel the awards served
to give recognition to the Industry
for its achievements in the context
of changing and challenging markets
in 2009.
On the home market Quality Mark
campaigns were escalated in early
2009 to support pork and bacon
following the product recall. In
addition Quality Mark advertising
continued with the aim of driving
awareness of Quality assured beef,
lamb, chicken, eggs and horticulture
The Just Ask initiative, launched
during the year, aimed to encourage
consumers when eating out to look
for information on where the food
(particularly meat) on their plate
comes from and encouraged chefs
to provide this information on their
menus. In implementing this initiative,
Bord Bia has worked closely with the
Restaurant Association of Ireland,
Euro-toques and Good Food Ireland.
Meat marketing campaigns in overseas
markets focused on the quality of
Irish meat and on Ireland’s grass-fed
beef production systems. Instore
promotions, foodservice promotions,
retail fairs and tasting programmes,
public relations and online marketing
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
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and social media were used to
directly promote Premium Irish Beef
in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy,
the UK and the Netherlands. These
promotions were also enhanced
through integrated inward buyer visits
from overseas customers as well as
market study visits by Irish suppliers
to those markets.
Livestock exports increased by 40 per
cent in 2009. Marketing initiatives
during the year commenced with a
Livestock Seminar attended by 11 of
the major exporters of Irish livestock
to the EU and a promotional event
for Irish livestock in the Piedmont
region of Northern Italy. To increase
awareness of the high quality
animals available from Ireland, Bord
Bia supported a networking event
for Italian feedlot owners; made
presentations on Irish livestock in
Krasnodar, a major trade show
in southern Russia; attended and
presented on Livestock Breeding in
Ireland at the Agrofarm exhibition in
Moscow and supported a number of
livestock companies to participate in
the UK Dairy Event and Livestock Show.
The visit from the China Animal
Agriculture Association to Ireland, to
review the quality of bovine genetics
available resulted in the approval of
two companies to supply this growing
and valuable market.
The collaborative Agneau Presto
lamb marketing campaign by Bord
Bia, Interbev and Eblex in France won
first prize at the 2009 E-marketing
international awards in Paris. It won
the award for best multi-channel
investment strategy. As part of this
campaign a national retail competition
in France promoting Agneau Presto
cuts ran for a month between May
and June and was supported online.
In the foodservice sector, the Bistrot
Agneau Presto promotion ran over
six days in June with over 1,300
consumers tasting a range of agneau
presto recipes for Irish lamb.
Bord Bia’s series of Inspiration
Expeditions continued with a five
day tour programme of the Japanese
food and drink market. This expedition
coincided with a trade mission to
Japan led by An Taoiseach, Mr. Brian
Cowen, T.D. which included 17 Irish
Food and Drink companies. Minister
for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,
Mr. Brendan Smith T.D. delivered the
keynote address at the first Bord Bia
event which brought together Irish
food and drink companies with key
contacts from the Japanese food and
drink industry at a business networking
lunch. A second event by Bord Bia
sought to restore confidence in Irish
pork and rebuild trade relationships
following the product recall.
A new International Trade
Awareness Campaign, covered
10 markets and incorporated online
and offline advertising and social
media, to bring Ireland and its food
and drink manufacturers front of
mind among Continental European
buyers. It communicated Ireland’s
formula for quality food production,
blending sustainable resources with
applied innovation and world class
service. The initiative was part of our
drive to seek out new business and
complemented the arrival of our 25
Marketing Fellows in the market
while working to heighten interest in
sourcing from Ireland in the run-up
to Marketplace, 2010.
Bord Bia has undertaken the
following seafood research following
the transfer of the marketing and
promotion function from BIM:
Q
To understand consumer
relationships and attitudes
to seafood in Ireland
Q
To understand the dynamics of
the fish and seafood category
within the Foodservice market
Q
To evaluate potential opportunities
for the Irish prawn sector in the
German, Benelux and Greek markets
Q
To understand consumer attitudes
to the prawn sector in Italy.
In the dairy sector our research
covered future market opportunities,
in an agenda agreed in advance and
shared with industry. This research
has reviewed the potential for both
consumer-ready products and dairy
ingredients in areas such as sports,
medical and infant nutrition across all
major member states of the EU. We
have similarly examined the potential
for the continued development of
exports to the growth markets of Asia
and Russia. Research acquired during
the year included ‘The World Market
for Whey and Lactose Ingredients,
2007-2010’, ‘Opportunities for Milk/
Whey Proteins in Europe’ and ‘Cheese
as an Ingredient’.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
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Under the Consumer Lifestyle
Trends programme, research entitled
“Feeling the Pinch” examined
how consumers are responding in
the current economic climate. In
November 2009 the entire Trends
programme was refreshed in the
context of the global recession.
Through Bord Bia’s foresight4food
companies had the opportunity,
throughout 2009, to put their
products or prototypes to consumer
focus groups. As part of the research
into the ‘Drinks industry to 2025 –
opportunities for Irish manufacturing
companies’, work has commenced
with companies on specific innovation
initiatives. In depth research for
companies was concluded within
the following sectors – amenity, soft
drinks, jam and preserves, chocolate
and ready meals, and was utilised
to inform business to business
commercial sales development in
Ireland and abroad.
An in depth Price Modeling Study
was developed in 2009 in the context
of market price pressure and general
price deflation. This research was
awarded the inaugural Business-toBusiness Research Excellence prize and
the Marketing Society’s Innovation
award, which recognizes inventiveness
of research design and quality of
insights.
Over 58,000 visitors attended the
Bloom event held over the June Bank
Holiday weekend to see the 28 new
gardens and 50 new nursery/floral
displays. The main Bord Bia exhibit
at Bloom this year was represented
under the banner ‘Horticulture
for Life’. One of the key themes
was ‘Grow Your Own’ fruit and
vegetables. A replica of the ‘Obama
White House Kitchen Garden’ was
presented as well as a ‘Best in Season’
garden promoting the fresh, tasty and
healthy nature of local and in-season
produce. The Best in Season garden
launched a monthly promotion
throughout the rest of the year which
highlighted the range of ‘best-inseason’ fresh fruit and vegetables
available in Ireland. The Best in Season
campaign was also used to promote
and highlight to consumers the taste,
health, convenience and value for
money that potatoes represent. The
‘Garden Time Campaign’, launched
in Spring encouraged the grow your
own theme. Over 180 delegates
attended the Amenity Horticulture
Awards 2009 from garden centres,
landscape providers and nurseries.
As part of the Schools Organic
Garden Initiative, a DVD on the
establishment of an organic school
garden has been completed and is
available to all schools. Over 2,200
national schools participated in the
Incredible Edibles growing challenge
which encourages pupils to participate
in growing fruit and vegetables. The
initiative was launched in February
by the former Minister of State
for Food and Horticulture, Trevor
Sargent T.D., in the Dublin Fruit
and Vegetable Market. Over 1,340
schools and 190,000 school children
have participated in the Food Dudes
programme. The EU adopted a similar
programme for children across Europe
and Ireland has participated in the EU
school fruit and vegetable scheme
since September 2009. Approval for
over 380 schools to participate in the
programme for the 2009/2010 school
year has been received.
In Bord Bia’s first year to participate
at BioFach, held in Germany, a total
of 11 companies participated at what
is the largest organic trade fair in
Europe. A further 14 Irish companies
visited BioFach on a ‘fact finding’ visit
to the German market and trade fair.
This was the second full year of the
Bord Bia Vantage Programme
which supports dynamic and growthorientated small businesses which
are an integral part of a vibrant,
entrepreneurial and innovative food
and horticulture industry. Support
includes a dedicated small-business
website, seminars, and a mentoring
programme for high-performance
companies for export. Companies
availed of marketing resources and
expertise, focused on retail and
foodservice routes to market in
Ireland, Britain and the USA. The focus
in 2009 was on business development
and key account management
strategies delivered through oneto-one mentoring with leading
food business mentors. In addition,
workshops focused on successful
negotiations, pricing and marketled business planning, as well as
optimising financial decision making
for market growth and managing
the selling process. A key aim of the
UK Retail and Vantage Programmes
is to provide participating members
with useful and insightful market
intelligence that will help them to
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
better understand the consumer.
Bord Bia also provides “Routes to
Market” supports to help companies
identify, select and contract costefficient, best in class logistics, sales
and marketing service providers.
Within the foresight4food programme
Vantage Partner companies had the
opportunity to put their products or
prototypes to consumer focus groups
for validation.
SeptemberFest was held in Farmleigh
on the 12th and 13th September,
coordinated by Bord Bia in conjunction
with the OPW. The event’s primary
focus was to raise consumer awareness
of the craft beers available from the
island of Ireland. The consumer event
showcased the participating drinks
producers giving them a marketing, PR
and networking platform, as well as
giving them a direct sales opportunity.
The event was hugely successful this
year with a total of 34,000 visitors
to Farmleigh over the two days.
SeptemberFest 2009 was awarded an
International Design Excellence Award
in the Sales Promotion category.
The Brand Forum continued to focus
on developing the branded route to
market for Irish companies. The focus
during 2009 was on innovation and
on-line marketing through the use
of Twitter, Facebook and blogs to
promote and market Irish products.
The theme of the first Brand Forum
event of the year was ‘Evolving
Brands in Challenging Times’. Other
themes during the year focused on
innovation, brand essence, using
heritage to drive your brand, brand
coaching and online media marketing.
The 2009 programme closed with an
end of year event, with Alan Dukes as
keynote speaker, commenting on how
companies might respond to current
economic challenges.
Key trade events in 2009 included
ANUGA (Cologne), the largest
international food fair in Europe;
SIAL China (Shanghai), the largest
food, beverage and hospitality show
in China; Private Label Manufacturers
Association (PLMA) exhibition
in Amsterdam; Food Ingredients
Europe (FIE), a key event for the
ingredients industry; Gulfood, the
largest and most important food
related exhibition in the region,
which has been organised in Dubai
since 1987; Vinexpo (Bordeaux),
the largest and most important
drinks trade event in the world which
attracts global buyers and industry
executives; Sirha Exhibition the
leading European foodservice trade
show which takes place biennially
in Lyon; ISM 2009 (Cologne), the
largest international show on the
confectionery calendar; MDD Expo
(Paris), a key retail trade-show
focusing on private label; VAE (Paris),
a trade fair dedicated to snack food
and food-to-go; Club de Gourmet
(Madrid), a premium exhibition in
Spain; Vitafoods (Geneva), Europe’s
only dedicated nutraceuticals
show; WSWA (Orlando), the Wine
& Spirit Wholesalers of America
Annual Convention and Exposition;
Conxemar (Vigo), the key seafood
show in Spain and second most
important in Europe after ESE
(Brussels); TFWA (Cannes) the leading
exhibition in the duty free and travel
retail industry; CIMIE (Beijing), the
7th China International Meat Industry
Exhibition.
Key networking events hosted by the
Irish ambassador in London attracted
some 400 British and Irish trade
representatives to the embassy in
London. A similar event is hosted by
the Irish ambassador in Paris and Irish
embassies across the world showcase
Irish food during St. Patrick’s Day
festivities.
CONCLUSION
The prospects for 2010 point to
a return to growth as the year
progresses, notwithstanding the fact
that the marketing environment will
continue to be hugely challenging. The
potential for stronger export revenues
from key indigenous sectors such as
dairy and meat and the expectation
that investments by prepared food
companies to broaden their market
presence on the Continent will help
exports as 2010 progresses. However,
developments in Sterling and consumer
sentiment will remain critical.
Meat and Livestock
BEEF
The value of Irish beef exports
decreased by more than 12 per cent
to almost €1.4 billion in 2009. Trade
was curtailed by market demand
slowing for beef as reduced consumer
spending had some effect on overall
volumes, particularly at foodservice
level. Retail sales data for a number
of key markets would suggest that
overall beef sales fell in the region of
4 per cent during 2009. Total cattle
disposals in 2009 were 4 per cent
higher than the previous year’s levels
at just 1.9 million head.
UK export volumes fell by an
estimated 6 per cent to 245,000
tonnes with trade valued at €660
million. Progress continues to be
made in developing the market
position of Irish beef, particularly
in the multiple retail and higher
value foodservice market segments.
Shipments of beef to the Continental
EU markets were broadly maintained
at 214,000 tonnes, with trade valued
at €730 million, reflecting better than
expected demand in key markets
like the Netherlands, Italy and Spain.
Shipments to International markets
amounted to 2,000 tonnes, with
Russia the principal destination.
Average prices across all categories of
cattle decreased significantly in 2009,
reflecting difficult trading conditions
and lower consumption levels across
Europe. Steer prices were almost 10
per cent lower at €2.87/kg dw excl.
VAT. The highest prices were recorded
in June.
BEEF PROMOTION
The Bord Bia marketing strategy
for Irish beef was set out for 2008
to 2013 with the overriding aim of
Repositioning and Differentiation and
thereby building a position at the top
end of the European beef market.
This position will give Irish beef the
strongest possible opportunity for
higher returns across the sector as
well as withstanding challenges
resulting from weaker economies.
It will furthermore allow exporters
to capitalise on future opportunities
arising out of the forecast drop in
beef production across Europe and
a recovery in consumer demand.
The strategy is based on the key
characteristics of Irish beef: traditional
Grass Based Production, Full
Traceability and Quality Assurance,
and building further on this, through
tailoring and innovation of individually
targeted offerings.
Progress has been made in growing
new business and in maintaining
existing positions in higher value
segments, which has protected Irish
beef from even more severe trading
conditions at the lower end of the
market. The lower end of the market
was impacted to a much greater
1
2
1
Pictured are David Brett, Sales Manager,
Oakpark Foods who won the Bord Bia
award for Consumer Focus at Food and
Drink Industry Day 2009, with Aidan Cotter,
CEO, Bord Bia and James Brett, Managing
Director, Oakpark Foods
3
2
Pictured at the launch of the national poultry promotional campaign
were (from front to back) Ned Morrissey, Chairman, IFA Poultry
Committee; Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia; Eugene Lannon, Managing
Director, Western Brand; Tony O’Neill, Managing Director, O’Kane Poultry
Group; Paul Burch, Sales Manager, Moy Park; Peter Fardy, Leinster Area
Rep, Shannonvale and Vincent Carton, Managing Director, Carton Bros.
degree by the drop in demand, credit
terms and substitution by cheaper
alternatives. Furthermore, the spread
of markets in which new business has
been developed in the last 2 years
has helped to restrict Irish exporters’
exposure to currency fluctuations, and
especially our reliance on trade in the
Sterling zone.
Across Europe (UK, Netherlands,
France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden
and Germany) Irish beef is stocked in
three or more of the top ten retailers
in each market and in over 70 retailers
in total. In 2009 up to 200,000 tonnes
of beef were destined for the higher
value standard and premium retail
and premium foodservice markets,
with a further 75,000 tonnes of
Quality Assured beef destined for
the high quality, high volume Quick
Service Restaurant (QSR) sector
e.g. McDonalds and Burger King.
Two years into the strategy over 35
per cent of the volume target shift
of 60,000 tonnes to higher value
segments has been achieved. Against
a backdrop of 4 per cent average
decline in consumption over the year
in retail sales across Europe and a
greater decline in foodservice, this
represents a very strong performance.
LIVESTOCK EXPORTS
Live cattle exports reached an
estimated 286,000 head in 2009,
which was almost double the level
recorded in 2008. The value of this
trade increased by nearly 70 per cent
to €158 million. The principal factors
driving increased exports during the
year were a resurgence in calf exports
to the Netherlands, stronger feedlot
demand in Spain and Italy and a
significant rise in the level of finished
cattle exports to Northern Ireland.
Lower supplies on the Dutch market
from Germany and France, combined
with the absence of UK calves due to
3
As part of its promotional
activity for new season lamb,
Bord Bia organised an audience
giveaway on the Late Late Show.
Pictured here the former Late
Late Show host Pat Kenny with
Henry Burns, former Chairman
of the IFA Sheep Committee.
TB issues, created a strong demand
for Irish dairy calves on the Dutch
market throughout the year. In
addition, there was a strong lift in the
number of calves going to the Spanish
market with calves now accounting
for more than half of total shipments
to the market. For the year, calf
exports are estimated to have more
than doubled to around 127,000
head with the Netherlands taking
more than half of the total.
Exports of weanlings and store cattle
also performed strongly, rising by
almost 60 per cent to around 110,000
head. Shipments to Italy increased by
around 15 per cent to 53,000 head
despite a recovery in the volume of
French cattle on the market. Following
a very difficult year in 2008, renewed
confidence in the Spanish feedlot
sector helped boost shipments of
weanlings from Ireland. For 2009
shipments more than doubled to
reach around 25,000 head.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
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Exports to the UK increased by around
55,000 head to reach 90,000 head for
the year with around 80,000 of the
total destined for Northern Ireland.
Exports of finished cattle to Northern
Ireland more than doubled to reach
around 46,000 head while shipments
of finished cattle to Great Britain
reached 4,000 head.
The value of live pig exports fell by
6 per cent to €48 million, despite
exports increasing by over 5 per cent
to 482,000 head. While the value of
live sheep exports stood at €8 million,
this reflected the sharp increase in
exports, where exports rose by over
50 per cent to just under 100,000
head for the year.
LAMB
Contracting supplies both in Ireland
and the main producing countries
continued to affect the lamb sector in
2009. Total Irish sheep disposals fell
by more than 4 per cent in the year
to 2.85 million head. Lamb supplies
at export meat plants were 7 per cent
lower than last year at approximately
2.05 million head, reflecting a smaller
carryover of hoggets in early 2009
due to strong lamb supplies in late
2008 and a smaller lamb crop. Cull
ewe disposals were 8,000 head or
2 per cent lower at 386,000 head,
showing further indications of decline
in the breeding flock.
Due to poor consumer demand on
the home market Irish lamb exports
declined by only 3 per cent to 40,500
tonnes, at a value of €164m. The
French market continues to take more
than 50 per cent of Irish sheepmeat
exports
with shipments of 21,500 tonnes for
2009. The competitive nature of UK
sheepmeat due to the weakness of
Sterling created a challenging trading
environment for Irish exporters for
much of the year.
Exports to the UK came under
pressure during the year as exporters
struggled to remain competitive,
particularly as UK demand eased.
For the year, exports reached around
10,000 tonnes, consisting of a mix of
lamb and mutton.
The Scandinavian lamb markets
came under pressure as sheepmeat
struggled to compete in a slower
meat market. However, shipments
to markets such as Belgium, the
Netherlands and particularly the
Mediterranean region, performed
reasonably well.
Consumption on the home
market continued to suffer under
the depressed economic climate.
Although there were patterns of
trading down within the lamb retail
category, a drop in purchasing
volumes and consumer penetration
accounted for a fall-off of 10 per cent
in overall volume to 17,800 tonnes.
On average, lamb prices were up one
per cent on 2008 at €3.75/kg dw
(deadweight) excluding VAT, which
is mainly due to the stronger prices
for lamb between the November to
December period when lamb prices
were almost 10 per cent higher during
the period than a year earlier at €3.62/
kg dw excl. VAT, despite an ongoing
weak British pound undermining Irish
competitiveness.
LAMB PROMOTION
Promotion for 2009 centred on the
Irish and French markets. There were
two main promotions on the Irish
market in June and October. These
promotions sought to increase the
frequency of consumption of lamb
among consumers by highlighting
its delicious taste and versatility
for everyday and more economic
weekend meals. Activities included
national press, radio and outdoor
advertising, in-store tastings
and online activities. Within the
foodservice channel, communications
targeted chefs with a message that
emphasised a range of cuts which
proved economic meal options in an
environment where diners’ spending
power had shrunk significantly.
In France, marketing promotions
centred on the Agneau Presto
Campaign–a three year collaborative
programme between Bord Bia and its
counterparts in the UK and France.
2009 marked the second year of the
campaign, during which the declining
consumption trend reversed on the
French market for the first time in 10
years. An extensive communications
programme for the coming year
will aim to continue attracting new
consumers into the category.
PORK AND BACON
Despite a fall in European production
in 2009 by 2-3 per cent, the European
pigmeat market was relatively weak
due to lower exports outside of the
EU and weaker demand in some
European markets. Major world
pork importers such as Japan, Russia
and South Korea all imported less
pigmeat in 2009 due to depressed
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
consumer demand. This combination
of reduced exports and a weaker
European market have dampened the
local market with European pig prices
down by 7 per cent for the year.
Given this difficult market
environment, Irish pigmeat exports
performed reasonably well. Most Irish
pigmeat markets and customers have
returned to relatively normal patterns
of trade following the pigmeat recall
in late 2008 marking market recovery.
While exports of Irish pigmeat primal
cuts recovered relatively quickly in
2009, exports of processed product
including Irish origin took time to
recover through the re-establishment
of trading relationships which have
largely been achieved.
The loss of 10,000 breeding sows
following the recall impacted strongly
on Irish pig supplies throughout 2009.
For the year, it is estimated that overall
pig supplies were some 6 per cent
lower at almost 2.8 million head.
Within this, total pig disposals in the
Republic of Ireland during 2009 were
estimated to have declined by almost
4 per cent to 2.87 million head. This
decline reflects a fall of just 6 per
cent in export meat plant throughput
which was slightly offset by an almost
6 per cent increase in live exports of
finished pigs to Northern Ireland.
Lower pig supplies combined with a
drop of almost 9 per cent in Irish pig
prices led to the value of Irish pigmeat
exports in 2009 falling by 18 per cent
to reach €290 million, or 127,000
tonnes, back 9 per cent on 2008 levels.
In the United Kingdom, the negative
impact of the pigmeat recall on
the trading status and reputation
of Irish pigmeat product was slight
and temporary. By February 2009,
many key customers in the market
had recommenced purchasing Irish
product. In certain cases where Irish
processors had difficulties rebuilding
business with former customers post
the recall, this was largely due to
displacement by other suppliers during
the interim trading period rather than
any loss of trust.
Other market issues such as the
comparative weakness of Sterling
versus the Euro led to a competitive
market environment. For the year,
exports to the UK reached 75,000
tonnes, with a value of some €215m.
On the Continent trade was largely
maintained in 2009 with an estimated
34,000 tonnes exported, which was
valued at €51m. Trade to Germany,
Italy, France and the Netherlands were
at normal levels for most of the year.
Quality Assured pigmeat at catering
level.
POULTRY
The Irish poultry industry continued to
face significant challenges in 2009, no
more so than the ongoing weakness
of Sterling, as the UK market accounts
for 80 per cent of exports. This in
addition to price pressure brought
about by lower consumer spending
combined to create a difficult market
environment, especially for processed
poultry manufacturers.
European broiler prices started the
year reasonably well before dipping
below 2008 levels from February and
remained lower for the rest of 2009.
For the year, EU broiler prices are
estimated to have declined by 6 per
cent. Reported broiler prices for Ireland
show a more stable price situation.
The drop in feed prices also helped
producers as the year progressed.
PIGMEAT PROMOTION
Irish broiler production is estimated
to have increased marginally in
2009 while turkey output dropped
considerably.
Following the product recall in
December 2008, Bord Bia carried out
an intensive consumer communications
campaign around Quality Assured
rashers and ham, urging consumers to
choose these products which carry the
Quality Mark. Bord Bia also developed
a Generic campaign which highlighted
the Quality Assurance message and
aimed to increase the consumer’s
understanding of the meaning of the
Quality Mark.
Up to the end of August Irish
poultrymeat exports were running
more than 10 per cent higher due
largely to higher processed poultry
exports, although both chilled and
frozen volumes also recorded some
increase. However, the value of
exports, particularly processed poultry,
declined leaving the export value
some 12 per cent lower for the first
eight months of the year.
Bord Bia also worked closely with
the Irish Catering Colleges in terms
of promoting the increased usage of
For the year as a whole, the value of
Irish poultrymeat exports is estimated to
have fallen by 10 per cent to €183m.
1
Consumer Foods, Dairy and Beverages
DAIRY
Despite a decline of some 14 per cent
in 2009 over 2008, the dairy sector
continued to represent a core part
of the Irish food industry with export
revenues being estimated at some
€1.98 billion out of total food and drink
exports of €7.1 billion. This means the
sector accounted for 28 per cent of
total food and drink exports in 2009.
In stark contrast to an excellent
performance in 2007, dairy prices
had already come under considerable
pressure from the middle of 2008,
reflecting a considerable slowdown
in the global dairy market. The rate
of decline in global dairy product
prices accelerated in the early part
of 2009, leaving many products
at prices up to 60 per cent lower
than at their peak. This pressure on
prices led to the reintroduction of
intervention across the EU, resulting
in some 83,000 tonnes of butter and
around 260,000 tonnes of Skim Milk
Powder (SMP) being bought into
intervention storage. Of these figures
Ireland committed 15,000 tonnes of
butter and 37,000 tonnes of SMP into
intervention, estimated to be valued
between €90–€95 million.
Although the availability of export
refunds did help to offset the overall
effects somewhat, the very significant
price pressure on all dairy products in
2009 seriously affected market returns,
despite some recovery in global prices
in the second half of the year.
In contrast to some EU countries, milk
output in Ireland declined by around
2 per cent on 2008 levels despite
a rather good start to the year, as
a result of low milk prices and less
advantageous grazing conditions. In
reaction to the overall price pressures
on dairy products, there was a
movement towards the production
of intervention products in the early
part of the year, with production
of butter and SMP increasing in
that period. In terms of the total
production for the year, production
of butter decreased by some 4 per
cent, with SMP showing a dramatic
increase of around 19 per cent, with
the breakdown of Irish exports in
value terms focusing on key product
areas such as cheese, chocolate crumb
and infant formula. Exports of infant
formula remained good for 2009,
with strong demand in Asia having a
positive effect in value terms despite
a slight decline in overall export
volume. In contrast, export values of
butter fell by around 20 per cent with
intervention being the main receiver
of product. In terms of destinations
for Irish dairy products, the UK
continued to be the main export
market for cheese, taking around two
thirds of overall exports.
The ‘CAP Health Check’, which allows
for a 1 per cent annual increase in EU
2
3
1
Bord Bia fellows pictured with
the Minister for Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food, Brendan
Smith TD, Aidan Cotter, CEO,
Bord Bia and Tom Begley,
Dean, UCD Smurfit School
of Business
2
Frank Butler and Stephen
Perry from Rumblers, pictured
at VAE Expo a food to go
trade show, in Paris
milk quotas per annum over a five
year period, paving the way for their
abolition from 2015, was perceived as
providing the opportunity for Ireland
to boost output given the competitive
nature of the production base.
However, the circumstances of global
market conditions in 2008 and part
of 2009 resulted in a milk production
decrease. While this is expected to
reverse in 2010, it is vitally important
that any increase in output is guided
by developments in market demand.
PREPARED FOODS
The prepared foods category includes
a wide range of primary products
that have been further processed and
includes ready to eat foods, main meal
centres, snacks, confectionery and
bakery products.
Exports from the prepared foods sector
fell by 13 per cent during 2009 to
€1,296 million. This was due to a
number of factors, pressure on prices
3
Boozeberries pictured
meeting buyers at Bord Bia’s
stand at Vinexpo, a drinks
trade fair in Bordeaux, France.
due to an increase in products sold on
promotion, slower consumer spending,
the weakness of Sterling and increased
competition within the category.
Suppliers have been developing
new products in response to greater
demand for value while still delivering
the convenience and “on the go”
credentials needed by consumers.
The export performance of the sector
was helped by a good performance
by the chocolate, sugar confectionery
and bakery sectors, which helped to
offset weaker performance in ready
meals. The UK market remains the
most important market accounting for
55 per cent of exports when “other”
prepared foods are excluded. The
weakness of Sterling during 2009
meant that companies have made
considerable investment in exploring
new markets in Continental Europe.
A number of suppliers have gained
new listings in France in frozen
burgers, chilled soups and cereal
snacks with new business also gained
in The Netherlands, Scandinavia and
Germany.
Frozen ready meals is the largest
export sub category in the prepared
foods sector. The frozen ready meals
category now accounts for 27 per
cent of ready meal consumption
due to a renaissance in frozen foods
in general. The large frozen food
manufacturers have successfully
campaigned to highlight the benefits
of frozen food both in terms of
convenience, nutrition and cutting
down on waste through spoilage.
Because frozen ready meals are
a lower cost alternative to chilled
products this has also boosted sales
from more cost conscious consumers.
Product innovation such as steam
cooking has also helped to bring new
consumers into the frozen category.
Exports of frozen ready meals and
frozen pizza retained their market
position in 2009.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
With regard to the bakery sector,
the UK market continues to be
the dominant focus for Irish
manufacturing companies. Bread
continued to show its resilience, as
the consumer still sees bread as both
indulgent and affordable, with many
returning to staple foods at a time of
recession. This is also fuelled by the
trend of home prepared lunches and
less eating out.
opportunities for growth still exist
particularly in the premium end of
the market and in niche sectors such
as organic, Fairtrade and single origin
bars. Irish manufacturers, through
innovation and brand extension (for
example through development of
retail/café outlets), are poised to take
advantage of the current growth in
premium and future demand once
markets begin to recover.
very challenging year. Destocking in
certain markets was also a contributor
to the lower level of exports.
Products such as muffins performed
well in 2009, being seen as affordable
treats by the consumer, while the trend
of health and wellness was catered
for by innovative breads with quality
ingredients and digestive properties.
The Irish market for confectionery
mirrored many of the dynamics driving
the UK market, namely a marked
increase in the level of promotional
activity and growth in the premium
segment.
CONFECTIONERY
Sugar confectionery manufacturers
worked to extend their reach outside
of the UK into Europe and beyond.
Consumption of sugar confectionery
in most mature markets has, in
recent years, come under increasing
pressure from government campaigns
for reducing sugar in people’s diets.
However opportunities still exist
around sugar free, medicated and
character led products all of which
showed growth in 2009.
Non alcoholic beverage exports were
affected by a challenging business
environment from both a currency
and consumer perspective. Reduced
consumer spending impacted on the
likes of juices and smoothies, with
water becoming even more price
competitive.
Exports of chocolate confectionery
displayed resilience in 2009 in the face
of a challenging economic climate,
performing only marginally behind
2008. Confectionery as a category
exhibited its recession beating
character as consumers, who indeed
cut back their purchasing in many
food categories, continued to include
sweet treats in their purchasing
repertoire. Research in Ireland found
that 44 per cent of consumers have
no intention of cutting back on their
spending on chocolate regarding it
as low cost way to indulge. In the UK
60 per cent of consumers consider
chocolate to be an affordable treat.
The UK market remains the
predominant market targeted
by indigenous Irish chocolate
manufacturers. Despite the mature
nature of that market (per capita
consumption of 9.5kg per head and
90 per cent household penetration)
BEVERAGES
Similar to 2008, exports of beverages
(both alcoholic and non alcoholic)
remained under pressure again in
2009. Factors that contributed to a
further decline in exports included
the impact of a slowing down in
consumer spending and a fall off in
travel retail purchases primarily related
to a fall off in passenger numbers.
The combination of the weakness of
Sterling and the volatility of the US
Dollar, meant that the industry had a
Overall, exports have declined by 14
per cent to €1.06 billion. The strongest
performing category continued to be
whiskey where double digit growth
was reported in their key US market.
However, overall whiskey sales
remained stable for the year.
ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
Exports of whiskey remained stable
in 2009. This segment of the spirits
business continues to go from
strength to strength with several
new brands being launched each
year. The US market has been a big
focus for attention and this paid
off in double digit growth in 2009.
However, destocking in the global
drinks industry affected sales volumes
as well as the economic crisis. On a
more positive note, strong growth
was reported in the South African
and Russian markets. Travel retail is
an important market and sales in
this channel were down due to the
decrease in traveller numbers.
Beer exports were down in 2009.
However, some markets such as
North America and selected European
markets reported a more positive
performance. In the earlier part of
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
the year, destocking in these markets
as well as the economic downturn
resulted in a reduction in volumes
exported.
Exports of Irish cream liqueurs in
2009 had another challenging year
due to reduced consumer purchasing
as a result of the global downturn.
Destocking in key markets also slowed
the level of exports in the first part of
the year, resulting in sales declines of
approximately 10 per cent. On a more
upbeat note, manufacturers of cream
liqueurs in the value category reported
positive results as consumers looked
to purchase lower priced but quality
products.
In 2009 exports of cider had another
difficult and challenging year
and reported a volume decline of
approximately 14 per cent. Faced with
similar challenges as other producers
of alcoholic beverages, factors such
as currency movements, lower priced
competitors (especially those outside
of the Eurozone) and declining British
tourism numbers, all contributed to a
reduction in exports. A more positive
result was reported in USA, Canada,
France, Australia, Scandinavia and
Asia as these markets began to open
up and sales penetration increased.
NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
With regard to non alcoholic
beverages, the UK continues to be
the principal market for Irish exports,
trading in both retail and foodservice
channels, with private label, being
an important focus. Overall exports
were down in 2009, with trade being
affected by the recession and currency
volatility.
Within the UK, juices and smoothies
were hit by the economic downturn,
with smoothies taking the biggest hit
in terms of both volume and value.
Getting a more competitive price
point is the challenge for producers
going forward. Water continues to
be highly price competitive, with
producers now looking at more
innovative products in terms of robust
flavours and functionality.
FISH AND SEAFOOD
The export market for the seafood
sector in 2009 was very difficult due
to a number of factors. The weakness
of Sterling created very difficult
market conditions for Irish exporters in
both the UK and key export markets
in the face of very intense price
competition from UK producers. This
was particularly true in the shellfish
sector, especially for prawns. Slower
consumer spending in the main export
markets of Spain, Italy and France
was a key factor impacting on sales
to these markets during this period.
Within the shellfish sector, there was
a very serious decline in shellfish prices
across markets. US Dollar weakness
and market weakness in Asia had a
serious impact on Irish exporters to
these regions during 2009, particularly
to South Korea where reduced local
demand coupled with a depreciation
in the local currency of around 30
per cent made conditions there
particularly challenging.
Increased competition from third
countries in target markets trading in
the weaker US Dollar was a serious
issue facing Irish exporters particularly
for the shellfish and whitefish sectors.
The popularity of Panga which is
primarily farmed in the delta of the
Mekong river in Vietnam as a cheap
alternative to cod and other fresh fish,
has increased in Spain, also affecting
Irish whitefish exporters.
Value sales to the UK during 2009 held
up better than volume, mainly as a
result of higher value sales of premium
shellfish such as crab meat into this
market, with sales rising by 5 per cent
in value terms during the first half of
2009. The pelagic sector experienced
increased sales of mackerel to Nigeria,
Germany, Egypt, Denmark and Poland
as a result of higher quotas. Overall,
the value of seafood exports was
estimated to have declined by 9 per
cent to €303m.
According to industry sources,
markets began to pick up towards
the latter half of 2009 and orders
in late 2009 exceeded available raw
material supply due to poor weather
conditions. Low scallop and prawn
raw materials for example will ensure
a decrease in frozen stock levels in
cold stores and going forward this
should have a positive affect. The view
within the sector is that price levels
have bottomed out and buyers on the
whole are now more confident. On
this basis companies appear reasonably
optimistic about prospects for 2010.
The performance of the sector will
largely depend on a number of external
factors including currency movements
against the Euro. It is anticipated that
the mussel sector may remain difficult
due to ongoing competition in many of
its key markets. However Irish organic
salmon production is anticipated to
increase, which coupled with the
supply difficulties in Chile, should help
improve value sales.
Small Business and Organic Sectors
2009 was a tough year for the small business food sector which faced
serious challenges at a consumer, financial and retail level. In response
to the recession and the corresponding impact on small producers, Bord Bia’s
Vantage Programme delivered a series of programmes, events and initiatives
to generate new business opportunities for producers and to prepare them
for future market led growth.
Food entrepreneurship is important
for the food and drink sector as a
catalyst for change, innovation and
competitiveness. A fall in informal
and formal funding for start up and
growth was a key challenge for food
entrepreneurs in 2009 as owner/
managers faced the test of the
downturn on their business models.
Many are optimistic and are achieving
growth on the back of increased
demand for local food.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
In 2009, Bord Bia carried out a
number of research projects for
small food businesses. These
covered ready meals, soup, ready
meal accompaniments, salads, tea,
coffee, soft drinks, ice cream, bakery
and preserve categories. Consumer
perceptions, behaviours and attitudes
to current offerings were established
as well as future growth opportunities
for suppliers.
The research was carried out with
the aim of underpinning marketing
plans and new product development
opportunities for 2010.
BORD BIA VANTAGE
Bord Bia Vantage, our suite of services
for over 350 owner/managed SME’s
with a turnover of less than €3.5
million continued in 2009 to enable
owner/managers to access bestpractice marketing resources, expertise
and processes to help to build and
grow their respective target markets.
Food entrepreneurship
is important for the
food and drink sector
as a catalyst for
change, innovation
and competitiveness.
1
2
1
The former Minister of State Trevor Sargent
TD pictured at the National Organic Awards
2009 with l-r Eileen Bentley, Manager of
Small Business, Bord Bia and Mary Kelly,
Kelly’s Organics – overall winners
The three key service platforms of
Bord Bia Vantage are:
Bord Bia Vantage Point – Vantage
Point, Bord Bia’s online resource for
small food business. It is a focussed
space for small food businesses on
the internet. The online information
is designed to be quick and easy
to access to help in the day-to-day
running and marketing planning
for small food business. In 2009
there were almost 13,000 visits to
Bord Bia Vantage online. The most
frequently visited areas included the
events calendar, the newly introduced
‘news’ page, product and managing
a business. Content most frequently
searched by repeat users in 2009
included grant aid, distribution,
farmers markets, and packaging.
Bord Bia Vantage Plus – in
2009, Vantage Plus programmes
were delivered to over 100 firms.
A marketing finance programme
3
2
Pictured at the launch of SeptemberFest
2009 were Stephanie Moe, Small Business,
Bord Bia; mime artist Marcel So What and
a representative from the Porterhouse
focussed on assisting firms to stem
any potential losses through a difficult
trading year with more accurate
sales planning and forecasting
via workshops and one-to-one
mentoring. Branding development
opportunities were delivered via
interactive workshops around the
country. In addition, as a follow on
from the 2008 Bord Bia distribution
seminar themed ‘Collaborating
today for tomorrow’, thirty-two
small businesses participated on a
new cluster distribution programme
designed to focus on practical steps
to improve distribution planning
and management via local producer
networks. A total of five such cluster
groups were operating in 2009 in
Cork, Offaly, Cavan/Monaghan,
Galway and Wexford. All clusters
are forecasting increases in turnover
through collaborative distribution.
3
Irish stand at Biofach 2009,
the world’s largest and most
prestigious organic food fair
Also in 2009 a new ‘Market Readiness
Programme’ was launched for the USA
to facilitate understanding of market
entry procedures and regulations for
food exporters to the United States.
The ‘Prepare for Marketplace in 2010’
series of workshops reached out to
over 60 owner managed small food
firms assisting them in preparing for
meetings at Marketplace 2010 using a
research based business development
planned approach.
Bord Bia Vantage Partner is a
development programme for high
potential small business companies. In
2009, seven companies representing
a wide range of product categories
joined the Vantage Partner
programme. This third wave of the
Vantage Partner programme is due
to conclude in April 2010. In 2007
and 2008 a total of fifteen companies
participated on waves one and two of
Vantage Partner.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
A new development for Vantage
Partner 2009 was the launch of a
specific programme focusing on UK
market entry and growth.
Extensive in depth marketing work
with these firms has resulted in
stabilisation and expansion in the face
of challenging trading conditions at
home and in key export markets.
REGIONAL AND LOCAL FOOD
AWARENESS
In 2009, Bord Bia worked as part
of a Ministerial Advisory Group
established by the former Minister
of State for Food and Horticulture,
Trevor Sargent T.D., to respond to the
lack of common standards in farmers’
markets. As part of this group, Bord
Bia was centrally involved in the
development of a new voluntary code
of practice and the design of a new
banner for successful applicants. To
date, twenty six markets have received
the Good Practice Standard.
SPECIALITY FOOD
PROMOTION
At Bloom, forty four producers
showcased and sold their products
to visitors over the June bank
holiday weekend. In addition, artisan
producers were featured on a special
Late Late Show Bloom broadcast. New
features for small producers at Bloom
included an Irish Farmhouse Cheese
garden and an Artisan Afternoon
Tea for selected media. All of this
activity combined to raise the profile
of small producers in an increasingly
competitive marketplace.
In September, Bord Bia partnered
with the OPW at Farmleigh to
host the second SeptemberFest
showcase of artisan beer, cider and
spirit companies. 34,000 visitors
attended the 2-day event which also
featured artisan food. SeptemberFest
2009 was awarded an International
Design Excellence Award in the Sales
Promotion category.
Irish Farmhouse Cheese was
represented on the Bord Bia Ireland
stand at Anuga, Germany. Twelve
companies participated with the
objective of generating new business
in European export markets.
Small firms expanded listings through
a number of new key accounts in
2009 at home and abroad.
Also in 2009, Bord Bia sponsored the
Food and Drink category of the Small
Firms Association annual awards and
supported the Irish entries into the
Great Taste Awards and the World
Cheese Awards.
ORGANIC FOOD
Increasing demand for natural foods
and concern for the environment
continues to fuel demand for organic
products. 52 week data to December
2009 valued the Irish organic market
at €110 million, but this market is
now declining at 11 per cent per
annum (source: TNS Worldpanel).
This decline in value is being driven
through price cuts and by shoppers
not returning to the organic category
as often. Irish households spent
€11.39 less on the organic category in
2009 versus 2008.
The timing of National Organic Week
Good for Nature Good for You and
the National Organic Awards in
2009 was merged to achieve greater
consumer impact. The campaign
consisted of a mix of public relations,
outdoor media, national press and
online media. Evaluation of the media
undertaken by Bord Bia shows that
one third of adults in Ireland claim to
be more likely to purchase organic
having seen the campaign.
There were one hundred and forty
eight applications for the National
Organic Awards in 2009. Products
were judged on the criteria of taste,
packaging, branding and price.
The overall prize winner was Kelly’s
Organic Dairy for their Moonshine
organic milk.
TASTE COUNCIL
The TASTE Council is an independent
voluntary body representing the
artisan and speciality sector. Its
secretariat is Bord Bia. In 2009, Evan
Doyle proprietor of the Brooklodge
Hotel in Wicklow became the new
Chairman of the TASTE Council.
During the year, the Council has
worked on developing a local food
initiative and a report on lost and
forgotten traditional food skills in
addition to making progress in the
areas of derogation and Protected
Designation of Origin (PDO)/Protected
Geographical Indication (PGI) status
for Irish products.
1
1
The former Minister of State
Trevor Sargent TD pictured
at the launch of the Organic
Gardening DVD for primary
schools
2
Enjoying a craft beer
at SeptemberFest 2009,
Farmleigh
3
2
Paul Pritchard and Michael Martin
from Organic Herb Company pictured
at Biofach, an organic trade show in
Germany, with the former Minister
of State Trevor Sargent TD
3
Horticulture
MUSHROOMS
Mushroom exports for 2009 have
shown a decrease in both volume and
value. The biggest factor affecting
mushroom exports to the UK has been
the fluctuating value of Sterling. The
weakness of Sterling reduced the value
of exports and reduced volumes slightly.
Extra supply on the EU market led
to a negative impact on returns
within the marketplace. The outlook
for exports looks firm once Sterling
stabilises and the compost supply
situation normalises. Substantial recent
investments made by the Irish industry
in compost production and mushroom
production facilities would indicate that
the industry shares this confidence.
The UK mushroom market is
extremely important to Irish producers
who supply more than a quarter
of the total market. The UK retail
market for mushrooms was worth
£339m in 2009 with sales value up 8
per cent. Volume was down slightly
by 1 per cent. The consumer base is
slightly down with 80.4 per cent of
the population buying mushrooms in
2009. Within the retail market, white
closed cup mushrooms have retained
their share of just over 50 per cent
of the market, while loose and value/
discount sales have grown, indicative
of a more cost conscious shopper.
On the local market both the value
and volume of retail sales were up
marginally with the retail market again
the dominant sales outlet.
area of production for the alternative
types to the standard round tomato
type. The retail market value for
tomatoes has come down slightly while
volume has continued to grow. Vine
and cherry tomatoes are improving
their share of the market. In the lettuce
sector, following a general trend in
fresh produce, volume was up slightly
while retail prices fell by just over 5
per cent.
FRUIT
PROTECTED FOOD CROPS
Fruit is the largest fresh produce
category for consumers at retail level.
Apples and strawberries are the two
main fruit crops produced in Ireland.
Tomatoes and lettuce remain the
most significant crops in this category.
Tomato production has consolidated
in recent years. There has been a good
demand for Irish tomatoes from the
multiple retail sector with high value
lines such as tomatoes on the vine
which has led to some growth in the
The demand for Irish eating apples
is on the increase, with the premium
Celtic Orchard brand benefiting from
this trend. This year provided markedly
different conditions for growers of
Bramley and other processing varieties
as weather conditions combined to
1
3
1
Pictured at the Horticulture Amenity
Awards 2009 with the former
Minister of State Trevor Sargent
TD were l-r Aidan Cotter, CEO,
Bord Bia; Rachel and Barry Doyle
from Arboretum Garden Centre,
Co. Carlow – winners of the overall
Large Garden Centre of the Year
2
3
2
4
Pictured at the launch of Bord Bia’s Best in Season campaign were (from
left to right) sisters Rachel and Ella Fanning and Cayla Brady.
Pictured at the Mushroom Conference in Monaghan (from left to
right) were Mairead Kilpatrick AFBI; Michal Slawski, Bord Bia; Professor
Gerry Boyle Director of Teagasc; the Minister for the Department
of Agriculture and Rural Development, Northern Ireland, Michelle
Gildernew; Kieran Lavelle, DARDNI and Gerry Walsh, Teagasc.
produce a much smaller crop than
2008. Because the crop was smaller,
fruit size was bigger and marketing
conditions were a lot easier than in
the previous year when an oversupply
had occurred. Cider manufacturers
continued to cut their intake of apples
due to lower than anticipated demand
for cider, also a reflection of a wetter
summer.
In the soft fruit market strawberries are
by far the most important crop, but
significant niches exist for raspberries,
blueberries, gooseberries and red
currants. Irish strawberry producers
continued to invest in their category
with the result that the Irish season
has been extended considerably with
Irish strawberries now available right
to the end of December. The economy
in 2009 had a marked effect on the
category, which had been in growth
for a number of years. Whilst volumes
of retail sales were very similar to those
achieved in 2008, the value of the
retail market was down by nearly 10.5
per cent.
POTATOES
Fresh potatoes share of the total
fresh produce retail market fell to 12
per cent in 2009 and was valued at
€142m. A key factor here has been a
fall off in market consumption which
continued to decline year on year.
Reduced consumption of potatoes
can be attributed to a combination of
factors but most notably the increased
use of other carbohydrates (e.g.
pasta, rice) as well as more consumers
opting for convenience frozen potato
products (e.g. chips, waffles). Within
the fresh potato market households
are making less trips to buy potatoes
per annum and consumers are
converting to smaller pack sizes.
Roosters, Kerrs Pink and Queens
had a good year in terms of varieties
increasing their market share with
5
4
Keeling’s Garden at Bloom 2009
5
Top Irish gardeners Helen Dillon and Gerry
Daly joined the former Minister of State Trevor
Sargent TD and Mike Neary, Manager of
Horticulture, Bord Bia at the National Botanic
Gardens to launch a Bord Bia initiative entitled
“It’s Garden Time”.
other lesser known varieties in decline.
The increase in popularity of ‘baby’
and ‘salad’ potatoes with consumers
continues. Many Irish potato packers
are currently working with their
grower suppliers to produce ‘baby’
and ‘salad’ potatoes in Ireland. It is
the convenience aspect of these latter
product categories that, in particular,
give them their consumer appeal.
Weather was extremely problematic
for potato growers during 2009, with
rain fall disrupting planting in April,
and causing waterlogged conditions
in the field during the summer
months. The continuous summer
rains brought disease problems, and
naturally reduced sunlight available
to plants. The combination of both
factors reduced potential yield for
most crops. Although good weather
arrived in the autumn period many
growers left potatoes in the ground
seeking a greater degree of skin finish,
when normally they might have been
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
harvested. November 2009 proved
to be one of the coldest and wettest
since records began which prevented
harvesting. This was followed by
heavy frost and snows in December
which severely damaged crops left in
the ground.
FIELD VEGETABLES
The fresh vegetables element of the
fresh produce market was worth
€501m in 2009 falling by 1.5 per cent
compared with 2008. However the
volume of fresh vegetables increased
7.4 per cent year on year. There was
positive growth recorded for most
of the key vegetable lines including
carrots, parsnips, scallions, broccoli,
onions, swedes, celery, leeks and
courgettes. The rise may be explained
by a return to good nutritional quality
and value for money food that
vegetables represent in the current
economic environment.
Vegetables were actively placed on
promotion in a very competitive
retail market in 2009 which exerted
downward pressure on returns from
the marketplace. Similar to other
outdoor crops the weather created
many difficulties during the year for
growing and harvesting activities. A
very wet summer and end of year
period resulted in poor establishment,
plant growth and difficult harvesting.
AMENITY CROPS
Plant sales held up reasonably well at
the beginning of the year when the
gardening season commenced. Retail
outlets reported that customers were
looking for value when shopping
and were taking advantage of value
offerings and buying smaller ticket
items. In particular garden centres
reported a strong demand for fruit
and vegetable plants and seeds which
was a reflection of the increased
interest in Grow Your Own activity
and allotments in 2009. The sales of
gardening equipment and furniture
were well back on previous years.
The poor weather from the middle
of the summer onwards dampened
plant sales and gardening activity in
general. In the amenity sector the
collapse in the property market has
resulted in a significant decline in
demand for landscaping services and
this has had a serious impact on plant
producers for the landscape sector
and landscape contractors. There is
now an increased focus on the export
market. The weakness of Sterling for
a number of months during the year
was an issue for exporters.
HORTICULTURE PROMOTION
A number of activities were focused
on enhancing the marketing and
improving the competitiveness of
horticultural businesses.
Fresh Produce Promotion
– “Best in Season”
The key aim of the “Best in Season”
promotional campaign in 2009 was
to highlight to consumers what
fruit and vegetables are available in
Ireland and when they are in season.
The key messages of the campaign
for produce in season included
freshness, taste and health benefits.
The promotion ran from June to the
end of the year and each month
focused on produce in season at that
time of the year. The campaign was
communicated through both the press
and the digital media.
Incredible Edibles Programme
A key aim of the Incredible Edibles
growing challenge (in partnership with
Agri Aware) in 2009 was to increase
the consumption of fresh produce and
to highlight to primary school pupils
the role of the grower in producing
quality local food. Each primary school
received a growing kit in February that
provided them with all the resources
and instructions they needed to grow
five different crops. Two thirds of all
national schools participated in the
programme.
Bloom 2009
The Bloom garden festival took place
in the Phoenix Park, Dublin over the
June bank holiday weekend. Bloom
2009 featured 28 show gardens
from Ireland’s top horticultural
talent. In addition the show had
a range of features and activities
which entertained and enthralled all
ages. This year over 58,000 visitors
came to Bloom which was the most
successful to date. The event is
now established as one of the high
profile national consumer events in
the annual calendar. It provides an
important promotional platform for
Irish Horticulture and local artisan
food producers.
The recent high level of interest in
“growing your own” was a central
theme at Bloom 2009. Features
included a “grow your own garden”
which was a replica of the US First
Lady Michelle Obama’s recently
launched The White House Kitchen
Garden as well as a community
and organic garden. In addition to
the gardens there were spectacular
plant and floral displays. Bloom
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
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2009 also had a strong focus on
food and hosted a large artisan food
market at which over 40 traders
sold quality artisan produce to the
public. Other key features at this
year’s event included daily cookery
demonstrations; live entertainment
and seminars on a wide range of
topics.
Potato Market Development
This initiative is aimed at stimulating
potato consumption. There were a
number of components to the potato
retail marketing initiative including a
Potato Retail Training Guide (in DVD
format), The Potato Retail Toolkit and
Potato Point of Sale (POS) Kits. The
DVD details best practice in potato
category management. The Retail
Toolkit includes a manual providing a
category sales growth development
framework. The Point of Sale (POS)
Kits are used at or near potato
displays, to help consumers better
understand the category.
Garden Time Promotion
Bord Bia launched a consumer
gardening promotion campaign in
March 2009 which ran throughout
the key Spring gardening months.
The key aim of the promotion was
to promote the key message that
Springtime was the time for gardening
and to communicate sub messages
around health, economic, social and
environmental benefits of gardening.
Amenity Sector Strategy
During 2009 Bord Bia engaged
with the key stakeholders in the
preparation and development of a
strategy for the amenity sector. The
aim of the strategy was to provide a
road map for the amenity sector in
the short and long term setting down
a number of key recommendations
for implementation which will help
to secure and grow the sector in
the future. The strategy addressed
the various sub sectors of amenity
horticulture, the needs of their clients,
and, established targets against which
the success of the strategy can be
measured. A key focus of the strategy
is in activities that will increase the
domestic market share for home
grown plants and to grow and
develop the export market.
Business Development Training
Programme
This programme assisted businesses
to improve their competitiveness
in relation to domestic and export
markets. In 2009 training was
provided in the area of Energy
Management, addressing the
challenges of the high energy costs
by assisting in assessing and reducing
energy use as well as contributing
to enhanced sustainability in the
production of horticultural products.
Amenity Trade Shows
Bord Bia participated as a major
sponsor at the Kildare Trade Show
held at Punchestown in Co Kildare.
Bord Bia used the platform of the
show to promote to the sector its
range of services as well as presenting
the results of market research into the
amenity market in Ireland. Bord Bia
was also a sponsor of the National
Plant Fair.
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance underpins the effective marketing of Irish food and drink for
demanding world markets. Traceability and transparency from farm to fork assures
consumers the world over as to the high standards of care taken by every point in the
food chain in the safe provision of our food. Increasingly that care will extend the food
industry’s role for environmental aspects of food farming and production, assuring
consumers as to the sustainability of the food they consume.
The Bord Bia Quality Assurance
programme provides a comprehensive
service to the meat and horticulture
sectors that enables and supports
market entry, business development
and both trade and consumer
promotion nationally and
internationally. Bord Bia continues to
expand this service both in the range
of quality assurance schemes available
and in the scale of participation.
Schemes are operated for beef, lamb,
pigmeat, poultry, eggs and horticulture.
Bord Bia Quality Assurance Schemes
differentiate themselves from others
in that they offer standards that cover
production pre and post farm gate.
This integrated approach delivers a
more comprehensive assurance to
customers and consumers alike for
traceable quality food.
Furthermore all the Schemes that Bord
Bia provides are accredited by the Irish
National Accreditation Board to the
EN45011 standard. This accreditation
means that our programmes
are developed and operated to
internationally recognised norms
and have credibility with international
retail and foodservice buyers in our
export markets.
Product that has been sourced from
a certified member of the Bord Bia
Quality Assurance Scheme at both
producer and processor level can carry
the Quality Assurance mark once
permission has been granted from
Bord Bia. Increasingly consumers in
the Irish market recognise this mark
and cite it as a deciding factor in their
purchasing choice. In an independent
survey conducted in early 2009 more
than four in five consumers in Ireland
recognised the mark and almost half
of respondents said that they would
be much more likely to buy a product
bearing the mark. Throughout 2009
Bord Bia continued to advertise and
promote quality assured food and
Traceability and transparency
from farm to fork assures
consumers the world over
as to the high standards of
care taken at every point in
the food chain in the safe
provision of our food.
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2
1
Gerard Brickley, Director of Meat, Bord
Bia pictured with Gerry Giggins, Keenan
Nutritionist at the National Ploughing
Championships, Athy, Co.Kildare
horticulture. In the autumn Bord Bia
conducted a television advertising
campaign designed to increase
consumers’ understanding of the
Quality Assurance Mark.
Bord Bia conducts comprehensive
quarterly surveys at retail outlets
in Ireland to measure the usage of
the Quality Assurance mark. The
published results allow us to measure
the penetration of the Quality Mark
across various meat products and also
to verify that the mark is being used
correctly. Increasingly the data that is
collected from these surveys is used in
random checks to demonstrate that
the products can be traced back to
certified producer sources.
During 2009 Bord Bia conducted
more than 25,500 audits across beef,
lamb, pig, poultry and egg farms as
well as with horticultural growers,
egg and horticultural packing plants
and meat processing plants. The
largest membership is at producer
3
2
Pictured at the pork training for catering
colleges were Maureen Gahan, Bord Bia;
Michael McNamara, Lecturer and Grainne
Duffy, Student, Dundalk IT
level for the beef and lamb schemes
and this grew by almost 12 per cent
to reach 35,500 by year end. Work
has commenced in developing a new
combined standard for beef and lamb
farms that will update the current
schemes and is expected to become
available by mid 2010.
The Egg Quality Assurance Scheme
was completely revised in 2009, the
previous revision having taken place
in 2002. Auditing against the new
Standard for both producers and
packers is now in place. A new feature
of the revised Scheme is the inclusion
of new requirements for farmers
rearing the point of lay pullets for
supply to the egg laying farms.
The development of a Feed Quality
Assurance Scheme was initiated in
2009. Consultation has taken place
with the stakeholders in this sector
with the objective of introducing
standards that will have requirements
for feed compounders, blenders and
3
Pictured at the launch of Bord Bia’s Just
Ask campaign were former IFA President
Padraig Walsh, Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter
and chef Feargal O’Donnell
home mixers. It is proposed that
this standard will be finalised and
submitted for accreditation during
2010. The ultimate objective is that
all animals on quality assured farms
will have sourced feed from a Bord Bia
quality assured source.
The Bord Bia Horticulture Quality
Assurance Scheme was initially developed
in response to industry demand in
1991 and has been in operation since
that time. The programme provides
the horticulture industry with codes of
practice for the production, processing,
transporting and handling of fruit and
vegetables. The standards included in
this suite are: the Horticulture Producer
and Prepacker Standard; the Prepared
Fruit and Vegetable Standard, and the
Mushroom Casing and Composting
Standards. Bord Bia is also a
certification body for the GLOBALGAP
Standard in Fruit and Vegetables. Bord
Bia is currently in the development
stages of a new Horticulture Packer
and Distributor Standard.
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Services
STRATEGIC INFORMATION
SERVICES
In 2009, Bord Bia continued its
foresight4food programme which
is designed to stimulate and support
consumer-focussed innovation in Irish
food companies. Fifteen companies
took the opportunity to join an
“Inspiration Expedition” to Japan early
in 2009 which provided very different
stimuli for new product concepts.
To support innovation projects in
companies, a CEO breakfast briefing
was organised for twelve companies
and company workshops were also
piloted. Finally, the programme
encouraged 20 firms to test a
spectrum of new product ideas
amongst consumers prior to launch
in various markets.
The Consumer Lifestyle Trends
programme was completely refreshed
given the radical change in the
economic climate. The findings
of this extensive programme
are carried on the Bord Bia web
site providing wide access to
these insights. This programme
complements Foresight4Food by
providing a focus on changes in
consumers’ lifestyles. Insights into
consumer lifestyle changes can
provide the basis of opportunity
for new product developments.
The role of “Sustainability” as an
issue for leading European retailers
and food manufacturers was further
examined in 2009 and focused on
retailer expectations of their suppliers
of product for resale. The report
illustrated the varying speeds at which
different retailers and manufacturers
are engaging with the issue of
sustainability and how retailers are
looking to their suppliers to contribute
to their efforts in this area.
Bord Bia’s research project looking
at price elasticity across different
product categories was deemed
the most innovative project in
the Marketing Society’s inaugural
Research Excellence awards in 2009.
Another significant project in 2009
looked at the type of dairy products
in demand on the Continent of
Europe and what was expected
from suppliers by such customers.
The fifth wave of PERIscope
(Purchasing and Eating in the
Republic of Ireland) was undertaken
in 2009. For the past three of
these biennial surveys, we have
surveyed representative samples
of the population not only in the
Republic of Ireland, but also in both
Northern Ireland and Britain providing
interesting and useful insights into the
preferences and food-related habits of
consumers. The results of this work are
also available on the Bord Bia website.
Business to business relationships
are central to our strategy for
broadening export reach. Market
and trade fair presence which
balances our need to retain and
grow revenue in existing and new
territories is important.
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3
1
Aidan Cotter,
CEO, Bord
Bia and Dan
Browne,
Chairman,
Bord Bia
2
4
Food and Drink Award Winners 2009. L-R Back row – Joe Collum,
Marketing Director Consumer Foods, Glanbia; Sean McNamara, co-owner
ABC Nutrition; Anne Hogan, Brand Manager for Bulmer’s Pear Cider and
Mark Long, Managing Director, Highfield Nurseries. L-R Front row – Denis
O’Riordan, Marketing Director Kerry Foods Cheese; John Fanning, chairman
of judging panel and chair of Bord Bia’s Brand Forum; David Brett, Sales
Manager, Oakpark Foods; Vincent Cleary, Managing Director, Glenisk
Bord Bia continued its weekly
electronic news service, the FoodAlert,
throughout 2009. The FoodAlert brings
perspectives on emerging issues from
Bord Bia executives in our key markets
around the world and is published on
Bord Bia’s website. In addition, price
series are maintained for a variety of
commodities.
Throughout the year, the Inquiry
Team responded to over a thousand
external requests for information from
Irish companies, trade buyers and
others as well as servicing a similar
number for internal staff working
with Irish companies. In doing so,
they are drawing not only on the Bord
Bia reports but also a wide array of
published reports, journals and on-line
resources to which the organisation
subscribes.
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Gavin O’Doherty,
Marketing Director
Coca-Cola Ireland,
guest speaker at
Bord Bia’s Brand
Forum event
MARKETING SERVICES
Through the Brand Forum
programme Bord Bia continued to
work with companies to develop
and expand branding know-how to
encourage growth among food, drink
and horticulture companies.
During the year, 87 food, drink and
horticulture companies, ranging
from large to small firms, joined the
programme. The fora, which met six
times, represented the major element
of group learning and networking
for brand owners and marketing
practitioners. A panel discussion marked
the first forum of the year, chaired by
economist Marc Coleman, along with
a range of industry experts on the
future of food branding in Ireland.
During the year, insights on branding
came from Coca Cola, Glanbia
Consumer Foods, Barry’s Tea and
Murphy’s Ice Cream along with inputs
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Bord Bia’s French office coordinated
the opening of a temporary restaurant,
branded Bistro Agneau Presto (quick lamb
bistro) in the trendy Bastille quarter in June
2009 to promote Irish lamb. Pictured at the
event were Noreen Lanigan, Manager, Bord
Bia Paris and celebrity chef Trish Deseine
from new product development
practitioners. Alan Dukes was the
keynote speaker at the end of year
event.
A new feature of Bord Bia’s Brand
Forum in 2009 was piloting a Brand
Forum Mentoring Programme for
the members. Over a three month
period, 37 companies took part in
one-to-one mentoring to troubleshoot
branding issues. The Brand Forum
Social Media Workshop Series
also organised a series of workshops
on social media which has proved to
be of major interest for companies.
Additional key initiatives in 2009
included a Brand Forum Trends
Newsletter disseminated on a bimonthly basis, brand guides and brand
development services, encouraging
companies to launch and grow their
brands with assistance in brand design
and website development.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRY
AWARDS 2009
Bord Bia’s Food and Drink Industry
Awards ceremony took place on 5
November during its annual Food &
Drink Industry Day. 135 entries were
received from 74 companies across
the seven categories. John Fanning
chaired the independent judging
panel. Mr. Brendan Smith T.D.,
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food presented the awards.
The winners of the seven categories
were:
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Born Global – the export
award: Kerry Foods, Cheestrings
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Consumer Focus – the
innovation award: Oakpark
Foods, Oakpark Bacon Rib
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Environmental Enrichment
(sustainable company award):
Glenisk
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Home Grown – the home
market award: C&C, Bulmer’s
Pear
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New Perspectives – the
repositioning award: Highfield
Nurseries, Living Flavour
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Spotlight – the excellence
in branding award: Glanbia,
Avonmore Supermilk
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Thinking Big – the small
business award: ABC Nutrition,
Complete Supplements.
Bord Bia staged over 40 events in 2009.
Events Services delivered these events
in 2009 with the aim of supporting
the growth of the industry. Flagship
events in 2009 included Bloom and
Food and Drink Industry Day.
Business to business relationships are
central to our strategy for broadening
export reach. Market and trade fair
presence which balances our need to
retain and grow revenue in existing
and new territories is important. The
role of niche trade fairs in seafood,
travel, gourmet foods, confectionery,
own label, functional foods and
ingredients and meat remains
important. Presence at flagship fairs
such as Anuga and Sial has strategic
resonance with an industry committed
to long term growth.
Overall, Bord Bia managed Ireland’s
participation at 18 Trade Exhibitions
worldwide in 2009. Our Trade
Exhibition plan for the year was
oriented to Europe for continued
diversification, to own label routes
to market in light of a market shift
to value lines, to supporting our
continued effort to support the
development of exports to Middle
Eastern and Asian territories.
Bord Bia participated at MDD in Paris
and PLMA in Amsterdam – both
of which targeted the private label
sector. Dairy and ingredients producers
participated at FIE (Food Ingredients
Europe) in Frankfurt, a biennial show
which is the showcase for the sector
and attracts specialist key buyers
from around the globe. Companies
targeting the nutraceuticals,
cosmaceuticals and functional food
and drink sectors participated at
HIE (Health Ingredients Europe) held
annually in Geneva. 16 companies
participated at Biofach in Nuremberg
focusing on the organic sector.
30 Companies across the meat, dairy,
beverage, bakery, alcoholic beverage
and frozen food sectors exhibited their
products in 8 halls at Anuga.
The promotion of premium Irish meat
products was a key objective for the
Meat sector at Anuga this year. Bord
Bia also organised an inaugural Irish
stand at Shira the leading French
foodservice show which takes place in
Lyon, the home of French gastronomy.
Companies from the premium meat
and fish sectors participated at Club
de Gourmet in Madrid which also
targets the foodservice route to
market in Spain.
The first seafood show to take
place under the aegis of Bord Bia
was Conxemar in Vigo, the most
important seafood show in Spain and
the second in Europe after ESE. Eight
companies participated under a newly
developed Ireland banner.
Participation at Sial China, CIMIE,
China National Cattle Industry
Conference and Gulfood supported
our Middle East/Aisa strategy.
Bord Bia provided tasting promotion
support to assist in showcasing Irish
food and drink at St. Patrick’s Day
receptions at 46 Embassies worldwide.
In 2009 International
Communications achieved extensive
and positive media coverage for
Irish food, drink and horticulture
reaching 300 international trade and
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW
[CONTINUED]
consumer titles across key export
markets. This reach represents off-line
print publications as well as on-line
media with the aim of building a
positive image of Irish food, drink and
horticulture overseas for quality food.
A new departure for International
Communications in 2009 was the
commencement of establishing
our Garden Design Reputation
internationally in support of the
amenity horticulture sector. Bord Bia’s
Bloom in the Park 2009 attracted a
total of 20 overseas journalists and
photographers including a Dutch TV
crew. Articles about Bloom in the Park
were featured in a total of 15 overseas
print publications, a Dutch national
TV station, 4 overseas websites and 5
overseas on-line blogs. The overseas
markets which reported on Bloom in
the Park included Northern Ireland, UK,
Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium,
France, Denmark, Luxemburg, Canada
and The United States.
The Bord Bia International Trade
Awareness Campaign incorporating
the key messages of sustainability,
applied innovation, customer service
and enhanced revenue for customers
was launched in October. The trade
awareness advert ran in 10 European
target markets and featured in 19
print and 8 online publications. The
overall aim of the campaign was
to raise awareness in the trade and
business press of food and drink
capabilities. Underlying this was to
raise the Irish profile and build on
the excellent image of Ireland and its
quality food and drink offering.
MARKETING FINANCE
Bord Bia continued to operate the
Marketing Assistance Programme
(MAP) in 2009, aimed at providing
small and medium-sized enterprises
with assistance towards improving
their marketing techniques and
capabilities.
The grant-aided companies were
engaged in producing goods
ranging from farmhouse cheese,
beverages, chilled dairy, confectionery,
charcuterie, as well as goods in the
horticulture and meat sectors.
All companies were required under
the MAP to have an annual turnover
of between €100,000 and €3.5
million. In 2009, Bord Bia received
137 applications for grant assistance,
of which 131 were approved. Grants
totalling €629,030 were paid to 101
companies during the year.
MARKETS
Bord Bia’s global foot print extends
to nine overseas locations; six in
Europe and three Internationally. In
addition the Irish market and other
international markets are served
directly from Dublin. The allocation
of resources and the structure are
regularly reviewed to meet the
evolving needs of Irish food, drink
and horticulture companies through
a market prioritisation process.
In June 2009, the overseas offices of
Bord Iascaigh Mhara were transferred
to Bord Bia. During the second half
of 2009 an integration process was
undertaken and all the former BIM
offices are now fully integrated into
Bord Bia offices.
In order to meet the needs of the
industry, promoting quality Irish
products and showcasing Irish supply
capability in the provision of quality
food and drink, these offices and
personnel were resourced to;
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undertake buyer contact activity
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supply market place services
to companies
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acquire, assimilate and convey
relevant market information
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represent the Irish food industry
in developing relationships with
opinion formers along with key
trade and consumer media.
In 2009 Bord Bia offices responded
to the weakness of Sterling and the
difficult terms of trade endured by
the industry in marketing its quality
food in their most important market
by, in the first instance, assisting Irish
companies to sustain their business
in Britain and, secondly, in terms of
delivering a concerted programme
for the promotion of quality food in
European markets.
Corporate Statement
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Bord Bia was established under the
Bord Bia Act 1994 and operates in
accordance with the provisions of
the Bord Bia Acts 1994 & 2004 and
under the aegis of the Minister for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
GOVERNANCE
The Board has adopted the Code
of Practice for the Governance of
State Bodies and the provisions of
the Code are being implemented.
The Board is committed to
maintaining the highest standards
of Corporate Governance and Best
Practice, has a formal schedule
of matters specifically reserved to
it for decision, provides strategic
guidance, monitors the activities and
effectiveness of management and
monitors compliance on an ongoing
basis ensuring relevant legislation,
regulations and guidelines are
complied with.
ETHICS IN PUBLIC OFFICE
The provisions of the Ethics in Public
Office Act 1995 and the Standards
in Public Office Act 2001 have been
implemented. Board members and
staff members holding designated
positions furnish statements of
interests on appointment and each
year to the Secretary.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION/
DATA PROTECTION
Bord Bia is a prescribed organisation
under the Freedom Of Information
Acts 1997 and 2003. The Freedom
of Information Acts established three
statutory rights:
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A legal right for each person to
access information held by public
bodies;
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A legal right for each person to
have official information held
by a public body, relating to
him/herself, amended where
it is incomplete, incorrect, or
misleading;
A legal right to obtain reasons for
decisions affecting oneself taken
by a public body
In addition to the requirements of
the Freedom of Information Acts,
the Data Protection Acts 1988 and
2003 also apply to Bord Bia. The Data
Protection Acts protect the privacy
of individuals whose personal data
is being processed. Personal data
is information relating to a living
individual who can be identified from
the data itself or in conjunction with
other information held.
EQUALITY
Bord Bia is committed to ensuring
equality of opportunity and its
personnel and staff development
programmes are structured accordingly.
Bord Bia endeavours to assist staff in
relation to career and personal needs
and operates appropriate policies
covering such areas as educational
programmes, study leave, jobsharing and career breaks. Bord Bia
is also committed to implementing
government policy in relation to the
employment of disabled people in
the public sector. Specific additional
provisions were made for disabled
visitors in the construction of Bord Bia’s
Food Centre. There is a policy on sexual
harassment in operation to support
and protect the dignity of each person.
SAFETY, HEALTH AND
WELFARE AT WORK
Bord Bia is implementing the
provisions of Safety, Health & Welfare
at Work legislation, including the
preparation and operation of a Safety
Statement embracing all matters
affecting safety, health and welfare of
staff and visitors to Bord Bia’s premises.
CLIENTS’ CHARTER
Bord Bia’s Clients’ Charter sets out
its commitment to the Principles
of Quality Customer Service for
Customers and Clients of the Public
Sector. The Charter is supported by an
Action Plan and appropriate internal
procedures to give practical effect to
this commitment.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND
CONSERVATION
Bord Bia is committed to making
every effort possible to be energyefficient and to operating appropriate
conservation and recycling measures.
OFFICIAL LANGUAGES
ACT 2003
Bord Bia comes under the remit of the
Official Languages Act 2003 to provide
a statutory framework for the delivery
of services through the Irish language.
In accordance with Section 10 of the
Act, this Annual Report is published
simultaneously in Irish and English.
BOARD STRUCTURES
Bord Bia comprises the Board, four
Subsidiary Boards, the Chief Executive
and the Executive, which provide a
range of services to implement Board
policy and programmes. The Board
provides the appropriate balance
of skills and experience to support
the strategy of Bord Bia. The Board
comprises a Chairman and fourteen
ordinary members appointed by the
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food. All new board members on
appointment take part in an induction
course where they receive financial and
other information about Bord Bia, and
the role of the board and the board
committees. The roles of the chairman
and chief executive are separate.
There are four Subsidiary Boards
(Meat and Livestock, Consumer Foods,
Quality Assurance and Horticulture)
comprising a Chairman and twelve
ordinary members, who are appointed
by the Board with the consent of the
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food. The Chairman of each Subsidiary
Board is a member of the Board.
The board meets regularly and
is responsible for the proper
management of Bord Bia. It takes
the major strategic decisions and
retains full and effective control while
allowing executive management
sufficient flexibility to run the business
efficiently and effectively within a
centralised reporting framework.
DIRECTORS AND
INDEPENDENCE
BOARD COMMITTEES
All board members have access to
advice and services of the Secretary/
Director of Corporate Services who is
responsible to the board for ensuring
that board procedures are followed,
and applicable rules and regulations are
complied with. Bord Bia’s professional
advisors are available for consultation by
board members as required. Individual
board members may take independent
professional advice if necessary.
COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD
Details of members of the Board of
Bord Bia are set out on pages 48 to 50.
BOARD MEMBERS AND
MEETING ATTENDANCE
The number of Board meetings held
during 2009, together with details of
each member’s attendance, is set out
below. The total number of meetings
held by the Board during the year was
seven.
Board Member
Number of
Board Meetings
Attended
D. Browne
7 out of 7
M. Byrne
7 out of 7
J. Cahill
7 out of 7
R. Carolan
7 out of 7
N. Cawley
7 out of 7
V. Cleary
6 out of 7
P. Cusack
6 out of 7
K. Dunne
6 out of 7
F. Hayes
7 out of 7
J. Hyland
6 out of 7
M. Kilcoyne
1 out of 1
K. O’Leary
7 out of 7
M. O’Rourke
6 out of 7
B. Rodgers
6 out of 7
P. Walshe
6 out of 7
The Board Audit Committee, which
comprises five members of the Board
and one external member with a
financial background, met on four
occasions during 2009. The Board
Audit Committee is responsible for
maintaining an appropriate relationship
with the group’s external auditors and
for reviewing Bord Bia’s internal audit
resources, internal financial controls
and the audit process. It aids the
board in seeking to ensure that the
financial and non-financial information
presents a balanced assessment of
our position. The Internal Auditor and
the External Auditor have full and
unrestricted access to the Board Audit
Committee. Annually, a briefing session
is held to appraise members of the
Board Audit Committee and the Board
of relevant and recent developments
in Corporate Governance issues.
The Pensions and Remuneration
Committee, which comprises four
members of the Board, met on one
occasion during 2009. The Pensions
and Remuneration Committee
determines on behalf of the Board
the appointment, remuneration
and assessment of the performance
of, and succession planning for,
the Chief Executive; and significant
amendments to the pension benefits
of the Chief Executive and staff.
The Strategy Committee, which
comprises three members of the
Board, met on three occasions during
2008 during the development of a
Statement of Strategy 2009-11 and
had no requirement to meet during
2009. The Strategy Committee
plays an important role in providing
observations and recommendations
concerning strategic issues facing Bord
Bia and contributes to our strategic
planning process and the development
of the statement of strategy.
CORPORATE STATEMENT
[CONTINUED]
BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES
Section 21 of An Bord Bia Act
1994 requires the Board to “keep
in such form and in respect of
such accounting periods as may be
approved by the Minister, with the
consent of the Minister for Finance,
all proper and usual accounts of
monies received or expended by it,
including an Income and Expenditure
Account, a Cash Flow Statement and
a Balance Sheet and, in particular,
shall keep in such form as aforesaid
all such special accounts as the
Minister may, or at the request of the
Minister for Finance shall, from time
to time direct and the Board shall
ensure that separate accounts shall
be kept and presented to the Board
by any Subsidiary Board that may
be established by the Board under
this Act and these accounts shall be
incorporated in the general statement
of account of the Board”.
In preparing these financial statements
the Board is required to:
1. Select suitable accounting policies
and then apply them consistently.
2. Make judgements and estimates
that are reasonable and prudent.
3. Prepare the financial statements
on the going concern basis unless
it is inappropriate to presume
that the Board will continue in
operation.
4. State whether applicable
accounting standards have been
followed, subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained
in the financial statements.
The Board is responsible for keeping
proper books of account, which
disclose, with reasonable accuracy
at any time, the financial position of
Bord Bia. The Board is also responsible
for safeguarding the assets of the
organisation and hence for taking
reasonable steps for the prevention and
detection of fraud or other irregularities.
Dan Browne
Chairman
Aidan Cotter
Chief Executive
Statement On Internal Financial Control
On behalf of the Board of Bord Bia,
I acknowledge our responsibility for
ensuring that an effective system of
internal financial control is maintained
and operated.
The system can provide reasonable,
but not absolute, assurance that
assets are safeguarded, transactions
authorised and properly recorded and
that material errors or irregularities are
either prevented or would be detected
in a timely period.
The Board has taken steps to ensure
an appropriate control environment is
in place by:
Q
Q
Q
the Board’s strategies to achieve
those goals.
The system of internal financial
control is based on a framework of
regular management information,
administration procedures including
segregation of duties and a system
of delegation and accountability. In
particular it includes:
Q
Q
Clearly defining management
responsibilities and powers.
Establishing formal procedures
for monitoring the activities and
safeguarding the assets of the
organisation.
Developing a culture of
accountability across all levels of
the organisation.
The Board has established processes
to identify and evaluate business risks
by:
Q
Identifying the nature, extent and
financial implication of risks facing
the body, including the extent
and categories which it regards as
acceptable.
Q
Assessing the likelihood of
identified risks occurring.
Q
Working closely with Government
and various Agencies to ensure
that there is a clear understanding
of Bord Bia goals and support for
Q
A comprehensive budgeting
system with an annual budget
which is reviewed and agreed by
the Board.
Regular reviews by the Board
of periodic and annual financial
reports which indicate financial
performance against forecasts.
Setting targets to measure
financial and other performance.
Bord Bia has an outsourced internal
audit function, which operates in
accordance with the Framework Code
of Best Practice set out in the Code of
Practice for the Governance of State
Bodies. The work of internal audit
is informed by analysis of the risk to
which the body is exposed and annual
internal audit plans are based on
this analysis. The analysis of risk and
the Internal Audit plan are endorsed
by the Board Audit Committee and
approved by the Board. At least
annually, the Internal Auditor provides
the Board with a report of internal
audit activity. The report includes
the Internal Auditor’s opinion on the
adequacy and effectiveness of the
system of internal financial control.
The Board’s monitoring and review
of the effectiveness of the system of
internal financial control is informed
by the work of the Internal Auditor,
the Board Audit Committee which
oversees the work of the internal
auditor, the executive managers within
Bord Bia who have responsibility for
the development and maintenance
of the financial control framework
and informed by the work of the
Comptroller and Auditor General in
his annual audit.
I confirm that in the year ended 31
December 2009 the Board conducted
a review of the effectiveness of the
system of internal financial control.
On behalf of the Board
Dan Browne
Chairman
Organisation Structure
Main Board
Chairman
Meat & Livestock Board
Chairman
Horticulture Board
Chairman
Quality Board
Chairman
Consumer Foods Board
Chairman
Chief
Executive
Markets
Sectors
European &
Food Drink &
International
Horticulture
Quality &
Marketing
Food Dudes
Services
Strategic
Corporate
Information
Commu-
Services
nications
Corporate
HR
Services &
Finance
Staff Structure
Bord Bia is comprised of the Board,
four Subsidiary Boards, the Chief
Executive and the Executive, which
provide a range of services required
to implement Board policy and
programmes.
The Board is comprised of a Chairman and 14
ordinary members appointed by the Minister for
Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. There are four
Subsidiary Boards (Meat and Livestock, Consumer
Foods, Quality Assurance and Horticulture)
comprised of a Chairman and 12 ordinary
members, who are appointed by the Board with
the consent of the Minister. The Chairman of
each Subsidiary Board is a member of the Board.
The following Board Committees are in place:
Audit Committee, Remuneration and Pensions
Committee and Strategy Committee. The
Executive is comprised of staff based in the
Board’s head office and overseas.
Chief Executive
Aidan Cotter
Markets
Michael Murphy
International Markets
James O’Donnell
Quality/Food Dudes
Michael Maloney
Quality Assurance
Jim O’Toole
Marketing Services
Una Fitzgibbon
Small Business
Eileen Bentley
Meat
Gerard Brickley
Consumer Food and Beverages
Tara McCarthy
Horticulture
Mike Neary
Strategic Information Services
Julian Smith
Corporate Communications
Rosaleen O’Shaughnessy
Human Resources
Susan Doyle
Corporate Services
Frank Lynch
Finance
Gerry Bailey
Market Contacts
Ireland Market
Teresa Brophy
Amsterdam
Declan Fennell
Dusseldorf
Liam MacHale
London
Beatrice Blake
Madrid
Cecilia Ruiz
Milan
John Keane
Moscow
Alla Barinova
New York
Karen Coyle
Paris
Noreen Lanigan
Scandinavia
James O’Donnell
Shanghai
Breiffini Kennedy
Human Resource activities within Bord Bia support management
and staff to meet the challenges of the marketplace through:
Q
Establishing appropriate management structures to support
the strategic aims of the organisation
Q
Appropriate performance management systems
Q
Leadership, management and staff development
Q
Regular communication and engagement initiatives
The organisational culture is driven by continual prioritisation,
maximising outputs and delivering efficiencies through the optimal
use of resources and systems. Open dialogue ensures that Bord Bia
resources remain responsive to the fast changing environment in
which we live today.
Board Members
Bord Bia Board
CHAIRMAN
Mr Dan Browne
Director, Dawn Meats
(Grannagh Ltd.)
MEMBERS
Mr John Bryan
President, Irish Farmers’ Association
Ms Marian Byrne
Principal Officer, Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries & Food
Mr Jackie Cahill
President, Irish Creamery Milk
Suppliers’ Association
Mr Ray Carolan
Cattle Breeder
Dr Noel Cawley
Chairman, Teagasc
Mr Vincent Cleary
Managing Director,
Glenisk Organic Ireland
Dr Paul Cusack
Principal, College of Amenity
Horticulture, National Botanic Gardens
Mr Kieran Dunne
L and K Dunne Nurseries
Mr Frank Hayes
Director Corporate Affairs,
Kerry Group Plc.
Changes during 2009
Mr Joseph Hyland
Managing Director,
Irish Country Meats
Mr Michael Kilcoyne,
Vice Chairman, Consumers’
Association of Ireland
Ms Katherine O’Leary
Dairy Farmer, Home Economics
Teacher and Columnist with
the Irish Farmers Journal
Mr Mel O’Rourke
Mr Mel O’Rourke
Managing Director, Sylvan Ireland
Re-appointed 25th March
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Mr Mel O’Rourke
Aidan Cotter
Mr Padraig Walshe
SECRETARY/DIRECTOR
Term Expired 4th September
Frank Lynch
Dr Noel Cawley
(re-appointed 14th September)
Terms Expired 31st January
Ms Marian Byrne
Mr Padraig Walshe,
Former President,
Irish Farmers’ Association
Ms Marian Byrne
Changes during 2010
Resigned 21st January 2010
Mr Padraig Walshe
Appointed 22nd January 2010
Mr John Bryan,
President, Irish Farmers’ Association
Terms Expired 14th February 2010
Mr Jackie Cahill
(re-appointed 23rd March 2010)
Mr Frank Hayes
(re-appointed 23rd March 2010)
Ms Bríd Rodgers
Former Minister for Agriculture and
Rural Development, Northern Ireland
Bord Bia
Consumer Foods Board
Bord Bia
Meat and Livestock Board
CHAIRMAN
Changes during 2009
CHAIRMAN
Changes during 2009
Dr Noel Cawley
Chairman, Teagasc
Resigned 21st May
Ms Anne Sawbridge,
Managing Director,
Cadburys Ireland
Mr Ray Carolan
Cattle Breeder
Resigned 9th January
Mr Michael Maguire, Former
Chairman, National Pigs &
Pigmeat Committee, IFA
MEMBERS
Mr Michael Carey
Executive Chairman,
Jacobs Fruitfield Group
Term Expired 19th June
Mr Kieran Carolan,
Jaguar Capital
MEMBERS
Mr Vincent Carton
Chief Executive,
Carton Group
Appointed 30th January
Mr Tim Cullinan
Terms Expired
19th November
Mr Michael Doran
(re-appointed 9th December)
Mr Mike Doyle
General Manager,
Kerry Foods
Appointed 1st October
Dr Noel Cawley (Chairman)
Mr Paul Clarke
National Executive of the
Livestock Trade
Mr Colin Gordon
Chief Executive,
Glanbia Consumer Foods
Term Expired 19th
November
Mr Larry Murrin
(re-appointed 1st December)
Mr Tim Cullinan
Chairman, National Pigs &
Pigmeat Committee, IFA
Mr Martin McMahon
(re-appointed 1st December)
Mr Michael Doran
Chairman, National
Livestock Committee, IFA
Resigned 30th November
Mr Michael O’Connor,
Irish Poultry Processors
Association
Mr Tom Harrington
Public Representative
Ms Paula Mee
Food and Nutrition
Consultant
Mr Larry Murrin
Managing Director,
Dawn Farm Foods
Mr Noel McPartland
Chairman, The Food Hub
Mr Joe O’Flynn
Marketing Development
Director, The Irish Dairy
Board
Term Expired 14th
December
Ms Anne Woods,
Honorary Secretary,
Consumers’ Association
of Ireland
Changes during 2010
Term Expired 3rd April
Ms Eilis Gough
Managing Director,
Mileeven Fine Foods
Mr Tommy Fitzgibbon
President, Associated Craft
Butchers of Ireland
Mr Jim Hanley
Chief Executive, Rosderra
Irish Meats
Mr John Horgan
Managing Director,
Kepak Group
Mr Gerry Maguire
Managing Director,
Slaney Foods Group
Mr Martin McMahon
Irish Creamery Milk
Suppliers’ Association
Mr Alo Mohan
Chairman, National Poultry
Committee, IFA
Mr James Murphy
Chairman, National Sheep
Committee, IFA
Resigned 8th December
Henry Burns,
Former Chairman, National
Sheep Committee, IFA
Term Expired
14th December
Mr Jim Hanley (re-appointed
11th February 2010)
Changes during 2010
Appointed 5th January
Mr Vincent Carton, Chief
Executive, Carton Group
Resigned 7th January
Mr Ned Morrissey, Former
Chairman, National Poultry
Committee, IFA
Appointed 21st January
Mr Alo Mohan, Chairman, IFA
National Poultry Committee
Appointed 16th March
Mr James Murphy,
Chairman, National Sheep
Committee, IFA
Bord Bia
Quality Assurance Board
Bord Bia
Horticulture Board
CHAIRMAN
Changes during 2009
CHAIRMAN
Changes during 2009
Vacant
Resigned 2nd September
Mr Michael Cronin, Meat
Policy Division, Dept of
Agriculture, Fisheries & Food
Mr Kieran Dunne
L and K Dunne Nurseries
Terms Expired
27th September
MEMBERS
Mr Vincent Carton
Chief Executive,
Carton Group
Terms Expired
19th November
MEMBERS
Mr Paddy Callaghan
Nature’s Best Ltd.
Mr John Cunningham
Ex-Dairygold Food Products
Mr Eamonn Howell, Trading
Manager, Musgraves
Ms Rachel Doyle
Arboretum Garden Centre
Mr Michael Doran
Chairman, National
Livestock Committee, IFA
Mr John O’Leary
(re-appointed 21st January
Mr John Hogan
Dublin/Meath Growers
Changes during 2010
Mr Martin Jones
Islandview Nurseries
Mr Brendan Gleeson
Meat & Meat Policy Division,
Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries & Food
Mr Dermott Jewell
Chief Executive, Consumers’
Association of Ireland
Mr Paul Nolan
Group Development
Manager, Dawn Group
Mr John O’Leary
Deputy President, Irish
Creamery Milk Suppliers’
Association (ICMSA)
Re-appointed 21st January
Mr John O’Leary
Terms Expired
14th February
Ms Bríd Rodgers,
Chairman
Resigned 16th March
Mr John Bryan, President,
IFA and Former Chairman,
National Livestock
Committee, IFA
Appointed 16th March
Mr Michael Doran
Mr Brendan Gleeson
Mr Brendan Smyth
Former Chief Adviser,
Glanbia
Mr Cornelius Traas
The Apple Farm
Dr Declan Troy
Head of Centre, National
Food Centre, Teagasc
Ms Caroline Keeling
Keeling Fruit Growers/
Importers
Mr Gary McCarthy
Chairman, Fruit Growers
Association
Ms Jane McCorkell
Landscape Architect &
Horticultural Consultant
Mr Philip Moreau
Glenbrook Nurseries
Mr Ciaran O’Brien
Peter O’Brien Landscapes
Mr Eoin Reid
Fernhill Garden Centre
Ms Lavinia Walsh
Munster Mushrooms Ltd.
Mr Maurice Whelton
Potato Grower
Mr John Hogan
Mr Gary McCarthy
Ms Grainne Murphy,
Annaveigh Plant Ltd.
Ms Celestine Ward,
Ballinasloe Garden Centre
Appointed 9th December
Mr John Hogan
(re-appointed)
Mr Gary McCarthy
(re-appointed)
Ms Jane McCorkell
Mr Philip Moreau
Mr Eoin Reid
Ms Lavinia Walsh
Financial Statements 2009
Our accounts
52
Report of the Comptroller
and Auditor General
54
Statement of Accounting Policies
56
Income and Expenditure Account
57
Statement of Total Recognised
Gains and Losses
58
Balance Sheet
59
Cash Flow Statement
60
Notes Forming Part of the
Financial Statements
REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL
for presentation to the Houses of the Oireachtas
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES
(A) BASIS OF ACCOUNTING:
These financial statements are
prepared under the accruals method
of accounting, except as indicated
below, and in accordance with
generally accepted accounting
principles under the historical cost
convention. Financial Reporting
Standards recommended by the
accountancy bodies are adopted as
they become operative. The unit of
currency is the Euro.
(B) KEEPING OF ACCOUNTS:
Subsidiary Boards:
Under the terms of An Bord Bia Act,
1994, the Board is assisted by four
Subsidiary Boards in respect of Meat
and Livestock, Consumer Foods and
Ingredients, Quality and Horticulture.
All income and expenditure relating to
these Subsidiary Boards is reflected in
these financial statements.
Subsidiary Company:
The Board operates a wholly-owned
subsidiary company which does
not trade. Due to the nature of
the company, it is not considered
appropriate to prepare consolidated
financial statements.
(C) INCOME:
Income shown in the financial
statements under Oireachtas Grant-inAid represents the actual receipts from
this source in the period.
Income from the Quality Assurance
Schemes Special Funding, the Food
Dude National Roll-Out, the EU “Food
Dude” and Floriculture programmes
and Food Promotions Special Funding
is released to revenue in line with
related expenditure and any balances
due to or from Bord Bia are included
in Debtors or Creditors as appropriate.
Income arising from the recovery
of overseas VAT under the EU 8th
Directive represents the actual receipts
from this source in the period.
(D) FIXED ASSETS AND
DEPRECIATION:
Fixed assets are stated at cost
less accumulated depreciation.
Depreciation is calculated to write off
the original cost less the estimated
residual value of tangible assets on
a straight line basis at the following
annual rates:
Leasehold improvements
10%,
6.67%
Furniture & fittings
12.5%
Office equipment
Computer equipment
Motor vehicles
20%
331⁄3%
20%
(E) MARKETING FINANCE:
Expenditure under this heading is
accounted for on the basis of actual
payments made.
(F) PENSIONS:
There are two Superannuation
Schemes in operation within Bord Bia.
The Bord Bia main scheme is a funded
scheme. Under the terms of the
Financial Measures (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act, 2009, the assets of
the scheme were transferred to the
National Pension Reserve Fund with
effect from 31 December 2009. The
scheme continues in being for existing
members. As of 1 January 2010,
funding to meet pension payments on
this scheme will be provided through
the annual Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid.
With regard to employees of the
former Bord Glas, a non-contributory
defined benefit pension scheme
and a contributory spouses and
children’s scheme is operated on
an administrative basis pending
the authorisation of the schemes
by the Minister for Finance. Under
the provisions of An Bord Bia
(Amendment) Act, 2004, all staff of
the former Bord Glas were transferred
to Bord Bia with effect from 1 July
2004. The Act also provided that
liability for pension benefits awarded
to all former staff of Bord Glas should
be transferred to Bord Bia on terms
and conditions no less favourable than
those applicable before the transfer.
Pension costs reflect pension benefits
earned by employees in the year. An
amount corresponding to the pension
charge is recognised as income to the
extent that it is recoverable, and offset
by Grant-in-Aid received in the year to
discharge pension payments.
Actuarial gains or losses arising on
scheme liabilities are reflected in
the Statement of Recognised Gains
and losses and a corresponding
adjustment is recognised in the
amount recoverable from the
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food.
Pension liabilities represent the present
value of future pension payments
earned by staff to date. Deferred
pension funding represents the
corresponding asset to be recovered
in future periods from the Department
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
(G) LEASED ASSETS:
Assets held under leasing
arrangements that transfer
substantially all the risks and rewards
of ownership (finance leases) to
Bord Bia are included in the balance
sheet as tangible fixed assets at cost
less accumulated depreciation and
the capital element of future rentals
is treated as a liability. The interest
element is charged to the Income and
Expenditure Account over the period
of the lease in proportion to the
balance of the capital repayments.
(J) PROVISION FOR BAD AND
DOUBTFUL DEBTS:
Known bad debts are written off and
specific provision is made for any
amounts the collection of which is
considered doubtful.
(K) FOREIGN CURRENCIES:
Foreign currency balances are
translated at the rates ruling at the
balance sheet date.
(L) TAXATION:
Rentals in respect of operating leases
are charged to the Income and
Expenditure Account as incurred.
Provision has been made in respect
of all VAT liabilities and the PRSI
contributions of Irish persons attached
to overseas offices.
(H) TANGIBLE ASSETS:
(M) CAPITAL ACCOUNT:
Tangible assets are financed out of
revenue. Provision is made in the
Income and Expenditure Account for
a transfer to the Capital Account of
amounts allocated for such capital
purposes less credits to revenue over
the life of the related assets.
The capital grant element of
Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid received by
Bord Bia is credited to the Capital
Account as set out in Note 2, and
is transferred to the Income and
Expenditure Account over the
expected useful lives of the assets to
which they relate, in line with asset
depreciation.
(I) STOCKS:
Stocks of stationery are stated at cost.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
year ended 31 December 2009
Notes
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
1a
28,221
26,851
Food Dude National Roll Out
1b
2,132
3,700
Quality Assurance Schemes: Special Funding
1c
3,570
3,900
Food Promotions Special Funding
1d
104
387
Statutory Levy
1e
4,972
4,957
Project and Other Income
1f
4,495
3,769
192
(57)
43,686
43,507
83
126
43,769
43,633
22,540
21,966
Food Dude National Roll Out
2,132
3,700
Quality Assurance Schemes
3,570
3,900
Income
Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid
Oireachtas - Other Funding:
Net deferred funding for pensions
Transfer from Capital Account
15b
2
Total Income
Expenditure
Marketing and Promotional Expenditure
3
Marketing Finance
4
629
555
Pay
5
9,943
9,187
Operating Expenditure
6
3,606
4,508
42,420
43,816
1,349
(183)
67
250
1,416
67
Total Expenditure
Surplus/(Deficit) for Year
Balance at 1 January
Balance at 31 December
The results for the year relate to continuing operations.
The Statement of Accounting Policies and Notes 1 to 18 form part of these financial statements.
Dan Browne
Chairman
Aidan Cotter
Chief Executive
STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES
year ended 31 December 2009
Notes
Surplus/(Deficit) for Year
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
1,349
(183)
Actuarial Gain on Pension Scheme Liabilities
15a
1,590
(5,972)
Adjustment to Deferred Pension Funding
15a
(1,590)
5,972
Transfer of Assets to National Pension Reserve Fund
15b
(15,641)
-
Increase in Deferred Pension Funding
15b
15,641
-
Total Recognised Gains and Losses for the Year
The Statement of Accounting Policies and Notes 1 to 18 form part of these financial statements.
Dan Browne
Chairman
Aidan Cotter
Chief Executive
1,349
(183)
BALANCE SHEET
as at 31 December 2009
Notes
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
Assets Employed
Fixed Assets
Tangible Assets
7
424
507
Financial Assets
8
8
8
432
515
11
11
1,445
1,567
8,989
8,151
10,445
9,729
8,398
8,978
2,047
751
639
692
Net Current Assets less Liabilities
1,408
59
Total Assets less Liabilities before Pensions
1,840
574
Current Assets
Stocks
Debtors
9
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors (amounts falling due within one year)
10
Net Current Assets
Creditors (amounts falling due after more than one year)
Provisions for Liabilities and Charges
12
Deferred Pension Funding
15b
23,169
8,925
Pension Liabilities
15b
(23,169)
(8,925)
Total Assets less Current Liabilities
1,840
574
424
507
1,416
67
1,840
574
Financed by
Capital and reserves
Capital account
2
Income and expenditure account
The Statement of Accounting Policies and Notes 1 to 18 form part of these financial statements.
Dan Browne
Chairman
Aidan Cotter
Chief Executive
CASH FLOW STATEMENT
year ended 31 December 2009
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
1,349
(183)
Reconciliation of Surplus/(Deficit) to Net Cash Inflow from Operating Activities:
Surplus/(Deficit) for year
Net Interest receivable
(119)
(300)
Depreciation
185
191
Capital account transfer
(83)
(126)
Loss on Disposal of tangible fixed assets
21
8
122
30
(Decrease)/Increase in trade creditors
(837)
161
(Decrease)/Increase in taxation and PRSI
(152)
169
Increase in Accruals & Deferred Income
409
Decrease in provisions for liabilities and charges
(53)
(251)
Net cash inflow from operating activities
842
740
842
740
Bank interest received
119
300
Net current inflow of funds
961
1,040
Decrease in Debtors
1,041
CASHFLOW STATEMENT
Net cash inflow from operating activities
Returns on investment and servicing of finances:
Capital expenditure
Payment to acquire tangible assets
(123)
(73)
838
967
838
967
Net funds at 1 January
8,151
7,184
Net funds at 31 December
8,989
8,151
Increase in Cash
Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement of funds
Increase in Cash
The Statement of Accounting Policies and Notes 1 to 18 form part of these financial statements.
Dan Browne
Chairman
Aidan Cotter
Chief Executive
NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
year ended 31 December 2009
1.
INCOME
(a) Included in Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid is €5,635,000 which has been made available to An Bord Bia under the
Marketing Sub-Programme of the Productive Sector Operational Programme of the National Development Plan
2007-2013.
(b) Amounts included under the heading of Food Dude - National Roll-Out totalling €2,131,732 arise in respect of
funding made available by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to cover the costs of the roll-out
of the Food Dude programme on a national basis.
(c) Amounts included under the heading of the Quality Assurance Scheme Special Fund totalling €3,570,115 arise
in respect of funding made available by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to cover the costs of
independent on-farm inspections and associated certification processes under the Bord Bia Quality Assurance
Scheme.
(d) Amounts included under Food Promotions Special Funding arise in respect of funding made available by the
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in respect of the following programmes:
Beef Expo Ireland
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
(29)
387
Biofach Organis trade fair
68
Asia- Beef Pork Offal-Promotion
65
104
387
(e) An Bord Bia Act, 1994, provides for payment to the Board of a levy per head on slaughtered or exported
livestock. Under section 37 of the Act, the rates were set at €1.90 per head for cattle, 25c per head for sheep
and 25c per head for pigs.
(f) Project and other income includes industry contributions to joint promotions, trade fairs, information services
and seminar and conference fees. Also included is interest receivable of €119,241 (2008: €300,047).
2.
CAPITAL ACCOUNT
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
Balance at 1 January
507
633
Amount capitalised in respect of purchased tangible assets
123
73
Amounts released on disposal of tangible assets
(21)
(8)
(185)
(191)
Net transfer to Income and Expenditure Account
(83)
(126)
Balance at 31 December
424
507
Amortisation in line with asset depreciation
3.
MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL EXPENDITURE
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
Promotions
5,529
4,661
Marketing Development
4,341
5,342
Trade Fairs and Exhibitions
4,520
3,101
Information Services – Research
2,688
2,037
648
1,320
Quality Assurance
1,168
1,075
Trade Development
2,994
3,406
Other client services
72
1,024
580
-
22,540
21,966
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
621
479
Marketing Improvement Assistance Programme
5
26
Market Participation Programme
3
41
Business Support Programme
-
9
629
555
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
Marketing & Promotion
8,322
7,668
Administration
1,621
1,519
9,943
9,187
Wages and salaries
8,096
7,694
Social welfare costs
594
589
1,253
904
9,943
9,187
Information – Other Services
Fellowship Plus
4.
MARKETING FINANCE
Marketing Assistance Programme
5.
PAY
Pay costs are comprised of:
Pension costs (Note 15c)
NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
year ended 31 December 2009
5.
PAY (continued)
The remuneration of the Chief Executive included in the above Pay costs is as follows:
2009
€’000
Salary
Performance-related pay
Company Car benefit-in-kind
Total
166,865
6,096
172,961
In addition, the Chief Executive is a member of the Bord Bia Superannuation Scheme and has pension entitlements
which do not extend beyond the standard entitlements in the model public sector defined benefit superannuation
scheme.
The total number of employees (including part-time persons) at 31 December 2009 was 104 (2008: 96).
The cost of certain part-time employees amounting to €90,757 (2008: €229,882) is included in Marketing
and Promotional Expenditure.
A total of €424,948 was deducted from employees during the year by way of pension levy and was paid over
to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
6.
OPERATING EXPENDITURE
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
431
559
Rent, rates and insurance
1,282
1,324
Telecommunications costs
197
227
General business expenses
1,485
2,174
25
25
185
191
1
8
3,606
4,508
Board and Sub-Board Members’ fees and expenses
Audit fee
Depreciation (Note 7)
Loss on disposal of tangible assets
6.
OPERATING EXPENDITURE (continued)
The fees paid to Board members in respect of 2009 and included in the above totals are as follows:
€
Mr. D. Browne
22,300
Mr. J. Cahill
13,008
Mr. R. Carolan
13,008
Dr. N. Cawley
12,749
Mr. V. Cleary
13,008
Mr. K. Dunne
13,008
Mr. F. Hayes
13,008
Mr. J. Hyland
13,008
Mr. M. Kilcoyne
595
Ms. K. O’Leary
13,008
Mr. M. O’Rourke
11,052
Ms. B. Rodgers
13,008
Mr. P. Walshe
11,052
Total
161,812
Total travel and subsistence expenses paid to Board members
7.
18,895
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Improvements
to Leasehold
Furniture Computer
Office
Property and fittings equipment equipment
Motor
vehicles
Total
€’000
€’000
€’000
€’000
€’000
€’000
1,667
667
459
473
53
3,319
37
14
68
4
-
123
(6)
(46)
(105)
(53)
(210)
1,704
675
481
372
-
3,232
1,368
593
378
433
40
2,812
98
20
57
6
4
185
(6)
(40)
(99)
(44)
(189)
1,466
607
395
340
-
2,808
At 31 December 2009
238
68
86
32
-
424
At 31 December 2008
299
75
81
40
13
507
Cost
At 1 January 2009
Additions in year
Disposals
At 31 December 2009
Depreciation
At 1 January 2009
Charged in year
Disposals
At 31 December 2009
Net Book Amounts
NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
year ended 31 December 2009
8.
FINANCIAL FIXED ASSETS
The Irish Food Board (An Bord Bia) France SARL is wholly-owned by An Bord Bia. The company does not trade.
It rents property on behalf of Bord Bia and these costs are fully reflected in these financial statements.
9.
DEBTORS
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
1,728
1,432
Amounts falling due within one year:
Trade debtors
Less: Provision for Bad Debts
(488)
1,214
944
231
623
1,445
1,567
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
2,337
3,174
Taxation and social welfare (Note 11)
246
274
Withholding tax
432
556
4,722
4,488
661
486
8,398
8,978
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
166
201
80
73
246
274
Prepayments and accrued income
10.
(514)
CREDITORS
(amounts falling due within one year)
Trade creditors
Accruals
Deferred Income
11.
TAXATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE
Taxation and social welfare creditors comprise the following:
Income Tax
P.R.S.I.
An Bord Bia is not liable to corporate taxes in Ireland or in the countries in which it operates because it is a noncommercial State-sponsored body.
It is liable to employer taxes in Ireland and complies with related withholding, reporting and payment obligations
in all countries in which it operates.
12.
PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES AND CHARGES
At
1 January
2009
€’000
Provided
during
year
€’000
Value Added Tax
152
Provision for Dilapidations
540
43
692
43
Released
during
year
€’000
At
31 December
2009
€’000
(96)
56
583
(96)
639
The provision in respect of Value Added Tax relates to adjustments to amounts recovered from overseas jurisdictions
in prior years. The Provision for Dilapidations comprises the estimated cost of reinstatement of leasehold properties
in accordance with obligations under operating leases.
13.
COMMITMENTS
(a) Capital Commitments
An Bord Bia had no capital commitments at the year end.
(b) Financial Commitments
There were no commitments in respect of Marketing Finance Programmes at the year end.
(c) Operating Leases
Operating leases comprise leases of premises. Leasing commitments payable during the next twelve months
amount to €395,999 made up as follows:
Payable on leases on which the commitment expires:
€
Within one year
188,314
Within two to five years
22,000
Six years and over
185,685
395,999
14.
CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
Contingent liabilities exist in respect of amounts approved but unclaimed at the year end under the terms of the
Marketing Finance Programmes operated by Bord Bia as follows:
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
963
879
Marketing Improvement Assistance Programme
-
51
Market Participation Programme
-
62
Business Support Programme
-
12
963
1,004
Marketing Assistance Programme
Management estimate that the contingent liabilities under this heading will be settled within one year.
NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
year ended 31 December 2009
15.
SUPERANNUATION
2009
2008
Total
€’000
Funded
€’000
Unfunded
€’000
Total
€’000
Funded
€’000
Unfunded
€’000
785
737
48
860
811
49
1,231
1,140
91
1,166
1,075
91
-
(1,122)
(1,122)
-
139
904
764
140
a i) Pension costs
Current service cost
Interest cost
Expected return on
scheme assets
Total
(763)
1,253
(763)
1,114
a ii) Analysis of amount recognised in Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses
Experience gains and
(losses)
Changes in assumptions
3,060
2,966
94
(7,605)
(7,526)
(79)
(1,470)
(1,241)
(229)
1,633
1,465
168
1,590
1,725
(135)
(5,972)
(6,061)
89
23,169
21,348
1,821
21,732
20,120
1,612
-
-
-
12,807
12,807
-
b i) Net Pension Liability
Present value of scheme
obligations
Fair value of scheme
assets
Net liability
Deferred Funding Asset
(23,169)
(21,348)
(1,821)
(8,925)
(7,313)
(1,612)
23,169
21,348
1,821
8,925
7,313
1,612
Deferred Funding Asset
An Bord Bia recognises these amounts as an asset corresponding to the unfunded deferred liability for pensions
on the basis of the set of assumptions described below and a number of past events. These events include the
statutory basis for the establishment of the superannuation schemes, and the policy and practice currently in place
in relation to funding public service pensions, including contributions by employees and the annual estimates
process. An Bord Bia has no evidence that this funding policy will not continue to meet such sums in accordance
with current practice.
Under the terms of the Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2009, the assets of the Bord Bia
Superannuation Schemes were transferred to the National Pension Reserve Fund with effect from 31 December
2009. The pension schemes associated with these funds continue in force for existing members with no impact
on benefits or associated provision for members. All future pension costs will be paid by Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid.
The effect of this transaction is to increase the pension liability recognised by An Bord Bia by €15,641,000 and to
increase the amount recoverable from the Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid by a similar amount. Both amounts are reported
in the Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses.
15.
SUPERANNUATION (continued)
2009
Total
€’000
2008
Funded
€’000
Unfunded
€’000
Total
€’000
Funded
€’000
Unfunded
€’000
b ii) Present value of scheme obligations
Present value of scheme
obligations at beginning
of year
21,732
20,120
1,612
20,380
18,756
1,624
785
737
48
860
811
49
1,231
1,140
91
1,166
1,075
91
Current Service Cost
Interest Costs
Actuarial (gain)/loss
(350)
(486)
136
(713)
(625)
(88)
Pension contributions and
benefits paid
(229)
(163)
(66)
39
103
(64)
Present value of scheme
obligations at end of year
23,169
21,348
1,821
21,732
20,120
1,612
12,807
12,807
-
17,367
17,367
-
Expected return on
scheme assets
763
763
-
1,122
1,122
-
Actuarial gain/(loss)
1,239
1,239
-
(6,685)
(6,685)
-
Employer contributions
995
995
-
900
900
-
Member contributions
418
418
-
363
363
-
(581)
(581)
-
(260)
(260)
-
(15,641)
(15,641)
-
-
-
-
-
12,807
12,807
-
139
904
764
140
(995)
(66)
(961)
(897)
(64)
119
73
(57)
(133)
76
b iii) Change in scheme assets
Fair value of scheme
assets at beginning of
year
Benefits paid
Transfer of Assets to the
National Pension Reserve
Fund (Note 15b i)
Fair value of scheme
assets at end of year
-
-
b iv) Net Deferred Funding for Pensions in Year
Funding recoverable in
respect of current year
pension costs
Oireachtas Grant-in-Aid
applied to pay pension
contributions and pension
benefits
1,253
(1,061)
192
1,114
NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
year ended 31 December 2009
15.
SUPERANNUATION (continued)
c) Description of schemes and actuarial assumptions
The Board operates two defined benefit superannuation schemes for certain eligible employees.
1) The Bord Bia main scheme, for which the approval of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the
Minister for Finance has been received. Until 31 December 2009, the contributions of employees and Bord Bia
were paid into a fund managed by the trustees. As detailed under note 15b i) above, the assets of the scheme
were transferred to the National Pension Reserve Fund with effect from 31 December 2009.
2) The former Bord Glas scheme. This consists of a non-contributory defined benefit pension scheme and
a contributory spouses and children’s scheme which is operated on an administrative basis pending the
authorisation of the schemes by the Minister for Finance.
An Bord Bia meets the cost of current retirements. These are paid out of current income. Contributions received by
An Bord Bia from members of the contributory unfunded schemes outlined above are used to part fund ongoing
pension liabilities.
An actuarial valuation of the Bord Bia Superannuation Schemes was carried out as at 31 December 2009 for the
purpose of preparing this FRS17 disclosure. The liabilities and costs have been assessed using the projected unit
method.
The financial assumptions used to calculate the retirement benefit liabilities under FRS 17 were as follows:
Financial assumptions
The principal actuarial assumptions used to calculate the retirement benefit obligations under FRS17 were as
follows:
31/12/2009
31/12/2008
Discount Rate
5.60%
5.75%
Inflation Rate
2.00%
2.00%
Salary increases
4.25%
4.25%
Pension increases
3.75%
3.75%
The following amounts were measured in accordance with the requirements of FRS17.
Demographic assumptions
The mortality table is 107.5% PN(M/F)A 00 base tables with 1.25% per annum future improvements from 2000.
The expected lifetime of a participant who is aged 63 and the expected lifetime (from age 63) of a participant who
is currently aged 40 years are shown in years below based on the above mortality tables.
Age
Males
Females
63
23.3
25.1
40 (from age 63)
26.5
27.7
15.
SUPERANNUATION (continued)
The scheme assets at the year end comprised:
2009
2008
Equities
n/a
44.9%
Property
n/a
5.4%
Bonds
n/a
44.7%
Other
n/a
5.0%
n/a
100.0%
€’000
€’000
2,002
(5,563)
(763)
(1,122)
1,239
(6,685)
Actual return less expected return on scheme assets
Actual return
Less: expected return
In developing the expected long-term rate of return on assets assumption, regard is had to the current level of
expected returns on risk free investments (primarily government bonds), the historical level of the risk premium
associated with the other asset classes in which the portfolio is invested and the expectations for future returns of
each asset class. The expected return for each asset class is then weighted based on the actual asset allocation to
develop the expected long-term rate of return on assets assumption for the portfolio.
d) History of defined benefit obligations, assets and experience gains and losses
2009
€’000
2008
€’000
2007
€’000
2006
€’000
2005
€’000
Defined benefit obligations
23,169
21,732
20,380
21,464
21,787
Fair value of scheme assets
(Note 15b i)
-
12,807
17,367
17,349
14,616
(8,925)
(3,013)
(4,115)
(7,171)
Deficit on Superannuation Schemes
(23,169)
Experience adjustments
on scheme obligations
1,822
(920)
(226)
236
378
Experience adjustments
on scheme assets
1,239
(6,685)
(1,489)
736
1,642
e) Contributions
Bord Bia expects to contribute €800,300 to the Superannuation schemes in 2010.
f) FRS 17
The information on pensions has been presented in line with new disclosure requirements required from 2008
under an amendment to FRS 17.
NOTES FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
year ended 31 December 2009
16.
BOARD MEMBERS - DISCLOSURE OF TRANSACTIONS
In the normal course of business the Board may approve grants and may also enter into other contractual
arrangements with undertakings in which Bord Bia Board Members are employed or otherwise interested. The
Board adopted procedures in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Department of Finance in relation to the
disclosure of interests by Board Members and these procedures have been adhered to by the Board during the year.
No grants were approved or paid during the year to companies with which Board Members are associated.
17.
COMPARATIVES
Certain amounts have been re-grouped in these financial statements and the comparative figures have been
restated to ensure consistency with the new presentation.
18.
APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Board approved the financial statements on 8 November 2010.
MARKETING FINANCE GRANT PAYMENTS 2009
Company
ABC Nutrition Ltd
Adare Farm Foods Ltd
Aine’s Chocolates Ltd
Ardrahan Dairy Products Ltd
Babylon Foods Ltd
Beeline Health Foods
Bia Kid Ltd
Boozeberries Ltd
Broadway Bagels Ltd
Bunratty Mead and Liqueur Co Ltd
Caherbeg Free Range Pork
Cahills Farm Cheese Ltd
Carlow Craft Brewery Ltd
Carrigaline Farmhouse Cheese
Celtic Chocolates Ltd
Celtic Pure Ltd
Corleggy Cheese
Country Cooking Company Ltd
Couverture Ltd
Crossogue Preserves
Cybercolors Ltd
De Braam Trading Company Limited
Deliciously Different Cakes Ltd
Doolittles Ltd
Durrus Farmhouse Cheese
Fitzgerald Nurseries Ltd
Flair Confectionery
Flannery’s Nurseries Ltd
Follain Teoranta
Fusco Foods Ltd
Garden of Eden Herbs
Garrymore Farm Ltd
Garryvoe Foods Ltd
Glenbrook Nurseries Ltd
Glenilen Farm Ltd
Green Pastures Donegal Ltd
Green Saffron Spices Ltd
Green Valley Farm Ltd t/a Killowen Yogurt
Gubbeen Farmhouse Products Ltd
Healy Fine Foods Ltd t/a Wicklow Fine Foods
Heatherfield Ltd
Heron Quality Foods Ltd
Hughes Roses Ltd
Hyde Ltd
In For Lunch Ltd
Ina’s Kitchen Desserts Ltd
Irish Concentrates Ltd
Irish Flapjack & Muffin Company Ltd
Irish Organic Herbs Ltd
Irish Roll Co Ltd t/a Irish Country Cuisine
Itsa Bagel Ltd
J Hick & Sons Gourmet Foods Ltd
Amount €
7,165
2,000
8,000
8,000
762
9,798
1,852
1,699
1,088
3,000
11,500
8,000
11,803
4,000
10,794
23,000
2,000
5,000
5,396
2,428
11,522
8,000
4,279
9,000
1,433
4,836
2,669
1,111
20,021
20,720
4,724
4,000
7,389
5,000
29,754
14,101
11,446
2,740
3,772
534
15,000
6,000
880
20,000
1,584
15,000
408
7,776
480
2,626
2,188
5,000
Company
J&L Grubb Ltd
Jinny’s Bakery
Kelly’s Nursery Ltd
Kellys Organic Dair Products Ltd
Kildare Growers Ltd
Kilfera Food Manufacturers Ltd
Kilkenny Flower and Bulb
Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese
Kohinoor Ltd
Stuart and McLean Ltd
Laurance Whelan Potatoes
LC Confectionery Ltd
Limerick Sauce Company Ltd
Long Life Plants Ltd
M&M Products Ltd
M&S Browne Ltd
Mannings Bakery Ltd
Marchminder Ltd t/a Cooleeney Farmhouse
Cheese
McGeough’s Connemara Fine Foods
Mediterranean Flavours
Mileeven Ltd
Milleens Cheese Ltd
Mr Middleton Garden Shop
Natashas Living Foods
Newmarket Foods Ltd t/a Gourmet Goods
Noirins Bakehouse Ltd
O’Callaghan Delicious Gourmet Foods Ltd
Old Mill Confectionery Ltd
Organic Herb Co Ltd
Perfect Gifts of Ireland Ltd t/a Wildes Irish
Handmade Chocolates
Posh Nosh Catering Co Ltd
Radical Fruit Co Ltd t/a Wild Orchard Natural
Beverages
Rose Manufacturing Ltd
Sam’s Cookies Ltd
Schram Plants Ltd
Sillis Green Veg Ltd
Solaris Botanicals Ltd
Soul Bakery
Soup Café
Springfield Nurseries
Tara’s Handmade Quality Foods Ltd
Taste a Memory Foods
The Bretzel Trading Company Ltd
The Burren Smokehouse Ltd
The Cuckoo Brewing Company
The Scullery
Tipperary Cheese Co Ltd
Whelan Food & Meat Processors Ltd
Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese
Total
Amount €
32,306
2,775
8,127
1,998
7,425
7,921
1,181
3,000
10,000
6,340
8,000
4,000
600
4,000
5,000
15,000
842
18,000
4,771
230
6,441
2,000
8,000
2,398
1,396
1,292
1,250
4,000
3,428
2,000
2,175
7,750
1,220
6,425
3,786
15,200
5,000
7,431
956
3,000
679
678
1,953
3,575
2,809
7,083
4,814
4,939
4,558
629,030
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
HEAD OFFICE
Clanwilliam Court
Lower Mount Street
Dublin 2, Ireland
T +353 1 668 5155
F +353 1 668 7521
www.bordbia.ie
E info@bordbia.ie