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Chapter 1: What challenges do Irish exporters face in global markets?
Breakfast Business with Enterprise Ireland on Newstalk. Selling your products and services abroad is never easy. Differing customs, languages, currencies and product standards make it tricky. Add in the fact that the euro is 11% more expensive against the dollar since January and a global trade and tariff war as well as the threat of cut price dumping on your home markets.
And you'll see what Irish exporters have on their plate. All of these topics will doubtless be on the table at Enterprise Ireland's International Markets Week. And Jenny Melia is the new chief executive of Enterprise Ireland and joins us now. Good morning, Jenny. Morning, Joe.
Now, Jenny, you carried out a survey ahead of this conference, and it seems to suggest that global uncertainties and costs are what worry Irish exporters the most.
Yeah, so there's a couple of things there, Joe. I suppose the first thing to land on in terms of what the clients told us through the survey, and it's very positive, and that's that 97% of them expect to expand into new markets. To support this expansion into global markets, we have brought 140 of our market advisers
from our 42 overseas offices to Dublin this week to meet with 700 of our exporting companies. So we expect to see about 2,000 face-to-face meetings taking place this week. And when I look at the export figures, I guess three things that I think really stand out for me this year And actually all three firsts when I look at them.
So the first is the total level of exports from the Enterprise Ireland client base last year stood at a record 36.75 billion. So we've come into this year on a very strong base. The second thing is the strength of the single market that grew strongly. We saw a very impressive 12.7 billion achieved in export sales. And that's actually the first time now.
that the single market has overtaken the business that we're doing in the UK. So that's a big first for us. But even in the UK, we saw the UK grow to reach just over 10.5 billion. And again, we've another first there because that's actually the first time we have broken or gone beyond that 10 billion mark. export milestone to the UK.
So when you look at how that success translates on the ground here at home, we have almost 235,000 people now employed right across the country, across our client base. And those companies last year pumped 42.6 billion into the local economy.
Now, I mentioned in the queue that tariffs are among the issues that exporters will be thinking about. Half those surveyed are worried about American tariffs and the other half aren't.
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Chapter 2: What insights did the recent survey reveal about exporters' concerns?
I think one of the big things in terms of the tariffs is that that, you know, was difficult for companies in the beginning was when we didn't have certainty and uncertainty.
But with Donald Trump, you're never going to get certainty, are you?
Well, we have certainty now in terms of the 15% tariff. And even in light of what I would call the fresh conversation last week around pharmaceuticals.
Which spooked a lot of people.
It spooked a lot of people. But at the end of the day, there was a very clear message sent out very early to say, no, the 15% tariff still holds here for the EU. And look, Joe, what I would always say, I'm in Enterprise Ireland now 29 years ago. I have never seen disruption that didn't bring opportunities with it.
So as well as holding on to everything we have in market, we will be out with our companies and with our 42 international offices looking for those opportunities, hustling, making sure that we're getting our companies in front of the right people in market, because we know as soon as we get them into those rooms, They have the innovative solutions.
They have the trusted relationships and they'll win the business from there.
Any sign of Irish exporters winning themselves off the US market and pushing into the new markets that the government have talked about? And I know you're looking at the Middle East and the Far East.
Yeah, so first of all, I think it's very important to say that the US is still very much open for business and is still a massive growth opportunity for our Irish companies. In fact, it is the first landing point usually. for our companies in digital technology, in FinTech, and in life sciences. So we are certainly still gung-ho in the US market.
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Chapter 3: How is Enterprise Ireland supporting market expansion for exporters?
And that is something, you know, we work closely with them on. And that's the purpose of those one to one meetings as well this week. to really get into the detail. So over the next five years, our ambition is that the exports that were at 36.75 billion last year, that we bring those exports up to 50 billion.
And as a result of that, then bring our spend in the local economy up to 55 billion by the end of 2029.
Well, best of luck with that and best of luck with your International Markets Week breakfast today. That is Jenny Melia, the Chief Executive of Enterprise Ireland. Back in a moment with the Appeals Centre Europe.