Q&A: What to expect from trade mission to Republic of Korea and Japan?
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon is leading a major agri-food government trade mission to the Republic of Korea and Japan, for which Bord Bia – the Irish Food Board – will play a significant role.
Joe Moore, manager of the Bord Bia Tokyo office outlined how the board will assist the minister in building trade ties with the South Korean and Japanese markets.
What is your role within Bord Bia?
I am the manager of the Tokyo office, responsible for the Japanese and South Korean markets.
What are the main Irish food and drink exports to your region?
Ireland exports meat (beef, pork, and lamb), dairy, seafood, drinks, and also a small amount of consumer foods to both countries.
Japan is one of the world's biggest cheese importers, so this is the biggest single export item from Ireland. In South Korea, we are delighted to see beef export growing after receiving access last year.
How is the market performing currently? What's impacting it?
Export value to both markets in 2024 was €199 million. This was a 7% decline year-on -ear, mainly due to a decrease in dairy exports to Japan.
There have been challenges with inflation and a weakened yen, but the long-term trend is growth – exports have nearly doubled over the past decade, which is remarkable.
Other sectors are performing well, and in particular Japan remains a key market for our beef suppliers. Wages are increasing, and tourism is booming. These factors should push things forwards.
Trade mission to Republic of Korea and Japan
The minister and Bord Bia are in Korea and Japan this week. What's the plan for the trip?
Bord Bia has organised a series of meetings between Korean and Japanese buyers and Irish exporters. Having a minister at these meetings adds real weight, especially in Japan and South Korea where seniority and official presence are highly valued.
We have timed this trade mission to coincide with the start of the Seoul Food trade show in Korea, and again having Minister Heydon present will attract new customers.
Minister Heydon will also meet government counterparts to discuss expanding market access. Irish drinks companies are keen to grow in Japan, and Bord Bia is hosting a networking event with local distributors to support this.
We're also launching Asia's first Chefs' Irish Beef Club chapter—an invite-only group of top chefs who champion Irish beef. As a marketing tool it has proven successful in Europe and the UAE, and we've chosen three high-profile Japanese chefs to join the club.
Joe Moore (second from left) with Korean beef buyers on John Purcell's farm last summer. Source: Bord Bia
What role does sustainability and Quality Assurance play in marketing Irish meat and dairy in your region?
The Republic of Korea and Japan are markets that operate on high quality. The customer has extremely high standards and being able to present our grassfed production system, backed up by Quality Assurance, is an excellent platform.
For a long time the key message within sustainability that has resonated in these markets has been sustainability of supply. As import dependent markets, and being risk averse, they prefer suppliers that can build long-term relationships and provide year-on-year.
More recently we are having conversations about environmental sustainability with the bigger blue chip customers. Again having Origin Green as a platform to speak to Ireland's sustainability credentials is a key differentiator for us.
How do consumer preferences and trends in your region influence the demand for Irish meat and dairy?
The food culture and local consumption habits can complement our other markets nicely.
For example, in Korea they love braised/stewed dishes and use a lot of short rib. And of course in Japan they love grilled beef tongue, which makes it a very valuable market for tongue.
Then for dairy, Japanese people tend to enjoy the lighter flavour of processed cheese rather than anything too mature. But the manufacturers need a high quality, functional cheese to produce this processed cheese, so this provides a great opportunity for the Irish processors who meet this need.
How do you collaborate with local distributors, retailers, and foodservice providers to increase Irish market presence?
Our efforts are focused on business development at a trade level. A key activity are buyer visits to Ireland –bringing customers to Ireland to let them see first-hand our family farms, our factories, and our produce.
I brought a group of Korean beef buyers back home in July last year. One of them is now an established customer, and we'll be meeting them during the trade mission with Minister Heydon.
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