Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Mr. Simon Coveney TD and Nigeria Minister for Transportation Rotimi Amaechi
Speaking before his departure on Sunday, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD said: “This Trade Mission provides a key foundation on which to build strong economic links with West Africa and with Nigeria and Ghana in particular. The region has a strong demand for imports of quality food, given the size of its population and Ireland is strategically placed to be a key supplier of quality dairy and meat products, but also high end services in the field of education, finance, engineering, construction and technology”.
CEO of Enterprise Ireland, Julie Sinnamon said: “We are very excited about the opportunity that exists for Irish companies in Africa. The continent as a whole is the second fastest growing economy in the world and is home to eight of the world's fastest growing economies. This trade mission is about helping Irish companies to optimise on the opportunity that exists, as the continent transitions from the need for assistance, to a continent of opportunity; the so-called 'aid to trade' journey.
“Our ambition is to reach export sales of €600m to the region by 2018 and we will continue to work with ambitious and capable Irish companies to expand their market share in African countries, exploring and developing lucrative trading relationships that ultimately deliver export-led job creation in Ireland.”
Expanding economies in West Africa provide fertile ground for Irish companies in the agri food sector wishing to expand their global footprint, and also in fields such as education, training, geoscience and engineering, financial services and technology. With combined populations of over 200 million, Nigeria and Ghana are experiencing healthy economic growth at present.
Overall, bilateral trade with Nigeria was worth half a billion euro in 2014 (exports €339 million), with Guinness extract the single largest export. Merchandise trade with Ghana was worth €38.7m in 2014 (exports €36.3million).
Find out more about the trade mission to West Africa on Enterprise Ireland website.
