Northern Irish meat processing firm, Dunbia, has sent the first shipment of Northern Ireland pork to India following the opening of the market at the end of 2015.
The first container arrived in port at the end of December with plans underway to ship further containers in the coming months.
Jim Dobson, group chief executive for Dunbia, commented: “This shipment represents a significant opportunity for Dunbia and our pig farmers and is the beginning of what we hope will be a long and profitable relationship with India, which is one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world.”
India is one of a number of new markets which Dunbia has been pushing to open for Northern Ireland beef and pork.
“We have been working closely with DARD Minister Michelle O’Neill to secure new markets for Northern Ireland beef and pork,” added Dobson. “In addition to India, Canada has also been secured for beef exports while Dunbia has recently received provisional approval for exports to China. These markets have been secured through a co-ordinated approach, which has seen industry and government working together towards a shared goal. It is all very positive news for the Northern Ireland Agri-Food industry and bodes very well for the future but we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to exploit every opportunity and seek further new markets, such as US, Philippines and Australia.”
Dunbia is currently up for sale following an announcement made in December.
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
