Top names in Northern Ireland’s food industry including Moy Park CEO Trefor Campbell and former Golden Vale MD Chris Gibson will sit on a new strategy group designed to give the province’s food and drink a clearer global identity.
The government-funded group, which comprises senior executives from the food industry, consumer groups and trade bodies, will look at issues such as the food supply chain, marketing - particularly in relation to exports - and current food sector structures. The strategy group’s chairman, former Enterprise Ireland ceo Dan Flinter, will report back to ministers in the autumn.
Originally conceived as a Northern Ireland equivalent of Bord Bia, the group was first mooted in 2001 after the department of agriculture and rural development found that food and drink marketing in Northern Ireland was “fragmented” and “ineffectual”.
Ian Pearson, the minister responsible for agriculture and the economy, said:“With major changes facing producers over the next few years it is vital there is a clear and effective strategy.”