Six oyster suppliers brought their wares to Cliff Town House to promote 
the oyster festival at Cliff House in Ardmore and Travel Extra was therein the queue to taste. The salty Galways from Kelly’s oysters or the sweet and succulent Carlingfords? The delicate flaggy shore oyster from Clare or the meaty Achills and Waterfords, washed down with some excellent gin form Blackwater Distillery? So many choices. As a tee-shirt at the event delcared, quoting Oscar Wilde: the world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.
The Minister of State Andrew Doyle; the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Michael Creed; and thirty Irish agri-food companies are on a week-long trade mission to Asia. Irish exports to Asia are on the increase, having risen threefold since 2010 and earned 954m in 2016. Minister Doyle has gone to Vietnam and Korea, and Minister Creed is visiting China (Ireland’s fifth most important market) and Singapore. 
Picture shows Fiona Cunningham, Ireland Market Manager for TourismNI with Naomi Waite, Director of Marketing Tourism NI and Simon Dougan from Yellow Door Co Armagh who organised the food for the British ambassador’s annual summer Garden Party in Glencairn, Sandyford hosted by Charge d’ Affaires Neil Holland. The menu included Portavogie Prawns, ABP Newry Beef, Glenarm Smoked Salmon, Comber Potatoes, Kilkeel Crab, Armagh Bramley Apples and Yellowman Fudge.
The Irish Wine Association called for a 15pc reduction in the alcohol excise in the upcoming budget. Ireland has the highest wine excise rate in the EU currently, and it has increased by 62pc since 2012.
