15 October 2009
The 13th NIFDA Annual Dinner took place in the Ramada Hotel, Shaws Bridge, Belfast on Thursday 15th October 2009.
THE Chairman of the Northern Ireland Food & Drink Association has urged members to seize opportunities in the economic downturn.
Speaking at the 13th Annual Dinner at the Ramada Hotel Shaw’s Bridge, Chairman Richard Moore, who is Director of Linden Foods, one of the largest meat processing factories in Northern Ireland, said the local food and drink industry has shown considerable resilience during the recession but mustn’t be complacent.
He added: “While not insulated from the down turn in consumer expenditure, we certainly have not suffered anything like other sectors. Businesses here are poised to grow strongly - if we are coming out of recession.
“The current weakness of sterling is an enormous opportunity to establish market position. However, I would contend there is even greater need for us to be ultra competitive. Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland are now more dependent on their food and drink sectors; they are considerable competitors.”
The Chairman welcomed First Minister Peter Robinson to the Annual Dinner and pushed for the Northern Ireland Executive to look again at how to manage the public sector provision for the support of the food and drink industry.
He said: “I hope that you can accept that this industry fully appreciates the difficulties that Northern Ireland politics was, is and no doubt will be for some time. Adding a dire economic situation gives quite a cocktail for our political leaders to manage.
“We would not seek in any way to underestimate that task. We are simply impatient.
“We ask you to grasp the challenge of how to grow the private sector, how to constrain public sector growth, and how to keep compliance relevant and proportionate.
“We should all, even regulators, have the success of the Northern Ireland food industry as a primary objective. We all need to share our pride in our products, our innovation, our brands and our companies.
“With the right government support, this diverse industry can make the fullest contribution to the economic regeneration of our country.”
NIFDA, established in 1996, is the trade body that represents the food and drink manufacturers of Northern Ireland.
Its main aim is to enable the food and drinks industry to work together on common issues, to improve competitiveness and to open up growth opportunities for everyone in the industry.