Sainsbury’s CEO to address Northern Ireland food industry

Run in partnership with KPMG Ireland, the event will be held on Thursday 12th October in the Hilton Hotel, Belfast.

With 300 people are expected to attend, the event is widely recognised as an opportunity for food and drink leaders to come together to celebrate the industry, discuss challenges it faces and look to opportunities for growth.

Speaking ahead of the dinner, NIFDA Executive Director Michael Bell OBE said: “We are delighted to have Simon join us at our annual dinner this year, as we celebrate Northern Ireland’s biggest manufacturing industry and discuss the key issues that are facing NIFDA members.

"These are challenging times, and over the past year we have seen unprecedented levels of food inflation, as energy, feed, and fertiliser prices rose as a result of the war in Ukraine and other global factors.

“Despite the challenges the industry faces, Northern Ireland food and drink continues to grow and the focus of NIFDA members remains on producing high quality, sustainable food and drink for our customers. Across the supply chain, we generate billions in value added to the local economy and support some 113,000 jobs across Northern Ireland. With the right support, we can grow even further with the right capital investment and export marketing support from government.”

Russell Smyth, Head of Sustainable Futures, KPMG Ireland said: ”We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s event. The NI food and drink sector remains one of NI’s most important and successful sectors, however as observed from our recent sector-wide survey, it faces significant challenges in responding to the climate and broader sustainability agenda. We look forward to exploring this in more detail on the night.”