Asian trade needs new plan says IBEC

IRISH businesses want the Government to produce a strategic plan to tackle non-tariff barriers to trade with Asia.

This is one of the principal recommendation of an IBEC report on trade with Asia, which was launched yesterday.

Among the principal barriers to doing business with Asian countries cited in the report are bureaucracy, customs delays and a lack of intellectual property protection.

Speaking at the launch of the report, IBEC's director of trade affairs Pat Ivory said: "There is substantial potential to increase Ireland's level of trade with Asia.

"In addition to increasing sales of computer, pharmaceutical, food and drinks products, Ireland should also be targeting growth in new emerging sectors, such as medical devices and financial services.

"Irish exports of goods and services to Asia are now valued at around €8.5bn per annum, but there is scope for increasing this above the €10bn mark over the next two years.

"Over recent years the trade in services, including financial and computer services, have been over €2bn."

Irish business which were surveyed for the report said they wanted improvements in the level of information available on the Asian markets. They also new direct flights to the region would help improve business ties. Among the other improvements sought was the harmonisation of technical regulations.

A number of Asian countries, including China, India, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Singapore, are experiencing GDP growth of between 7pc and 10pc.

Ireland's biggest Asian trading partner is Japan, which accounts for 35pc of the €6.5bn of Irish goods exported to Asia each year. Although sluggish in recent years, the Japanese economy grew by 2.7pc last year and is expected to grow by more than 2pc again this year.

"Ireland's economic future will more and more depend on how we fare in the emerging growth markets of Asia," said Gerry Murphy, director of international sales and partnering at Enterprise Ireland.

With 3.7bn people, Asia is home to over half of the world's population.

Asian countries have a combined GDP of €7,900bn. Irish exports of services to Asia have increased to over €2bn in recent years.