The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
Date: Wednesday, 29th May 2013
Location: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
This summit brought together, for one day, leading UK and Irish food company executives and retailers, along with policy makers, research managers and educationalists to:
- Debate key challenges in research, skills and knowledge and opportunities for innovation that exist across both islands for suppliers, manufacturers and retailers.
- Identify opportunities for developing a more entrepreneurial workforce through greater collaboration in development and training.
- Understand how R&D and knowledge exchange within a broader European context can create a strong platform for innovation to enhance the competitiveness of the food sector.
Summit Findings
Workshop sessions focused on how the UK and Irish food industries, in partnership with their innovation support agencies, could respond to new challenges and opportunities. The questions posed at these workshops were designed to explore themes of Skills, Innovation and Shortening the Food Chain. The delegates were divided into small groups and given the opportunity to discuss specific questions. View the SummitWorkshopResponses from each of those discussions.
The key findings and outputs from the workshops were summarised and presented on the day by Mr. Stephen Parry, Prof. Mary Lambkin-Coyle and Prof. Damien P. McLoughlin.
The report ‘InnovationIrelandUKFoodSector’ records the event’s principal outcomes and brings together three Priority Actions to drive the UK-Ireland innovation, education and entrepreneurship collaboration using an integrated approach.
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Professor Gerry Boyle
Professor Gerry Boyle, Director of Teagasc, Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Ireland
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Professor David H Boxer
Professor David H Boxer at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Catherine Toolan
Catherine Toolan at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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John Kennedy
John Kennedy at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Melanie Leech
Melanie Leech at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Minister Simon Coveney
Minister Simon Coveney at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Owen Patterson MP
Owen Patterson MP at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Minister Questions
Minister Questions at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Paul Finnerty
Paul Finnerty at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Ciaran Sullivan
Ciaran Sullivan at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Kevin Lane
Kevin Lane at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Patrick Coveney
Patrick Coveney at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Panel Discussion 1
Panel Discussion 1 at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Panel Discussion 2
Panel Discussion 2 at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
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Declan Troy
Declan Troy - Closing Remarks at The First UK-Ireland Food Business Innovation Summit
Background to the Summit
Following a Joint Statement in March 2012, the UK Prime Minister and the Taoiseach of Ireland committed themselves to initiatives to boost competitiveness and productivity and to support innovation, research and development involving greater collaboration between our third-level colleges, research institutes and business sectors. In view of the growing uncertainty in global food and commodity markets, the two leaders specifically identified considerable potential for closer cooperation in the agri-food sector.
Both countries share a common objective of making the sector more productive and competitive. Food and drink exports underpin the relationship between the UK and Ireland. In 2012, 42% of Irish food and drink exports, worth €3.8 billion were consumed in the UK. The market accounted for over 52% of total Irish beef exports and 36% of dairy products and ingredient exports in 2012. The flow of trade is two way. The value of food exports from the UK to Ireland is in the region of £3 billion stg per annum.
The organisation of Flyer was seen as a positive step towards building closer cooperation between the two islands, reflecting the comments made by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and the Prime Minister, David Cameron. The event themed ‘Exploiting synergies for growth through innovation, research, skills and knowledge’ brought together over 300 leading UK and Irish food company executives and retailers, along with policy makers and research managers. They discussed the key opportunities that exist for innovation in the food sector and the considerable potential for closer co-operation in the agri-food sector. The findings are available in ‘ InnovationIrelandUKFoodSector’.