The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD, and Minister of State, Martin Heydon TD announced that Ireland has secured access for exports of pigmeat to the Malaysian market.
Minister McConalogue stated, “I am very pleased that trade can commence immediately with Malaysia for top-class Irish pigmeat. The opening of the market comes as a result of my Department’s work in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland in Kuala Lumpur, Bord Bia and other industry stakeholders. Securing access to the Malaysian market has been a priority for my Department for several years. Credit is due in particular to Ambassador Hilary Reilly and her team in the Kuala Lumpur Embassy for their contribution. I hope the opening of a crucial and strategic market such as this will help drive greater levels of competition in the market which, in turn, should drive improved returns to farmers.”
“We are currently planning the trade mission agenda for 2023, and I hope that this will include a mission to Malaysia to build on this important market access achievement.”
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with a population of 33 million. There is a sizeable consumer market for pork and imports account for around 6-7% of total pigmeat consumption. Per capita consumption of pork amounts to 17kg annually.
Minister of State, Martin Heydon, who has special responsibility for new market development, said, “Food Vision 2030 sets out our ambition to gain and maintain market access to priority international markets. As chair of the Pig Roundtable, I am conscious that this is particularly important to the pigmeat sector. Trade to international markets outside Europe was worth €365 million, or almost 40% of the total value of Irish pigmeat exports in 2021.”
“I know that this has been a challenging period for the sector, but in addition to the support packages that have been provided, we will continue to develop more trade opportunities which are essential to underpin its future development.”
