Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins MLA met with representatives from Logistics UK on 30 April, in a high-level discussion aimed at reinforcing the logistics sector’s vital role in the region’s economy and advocating for greater policy support.
The meeting, held at S&W Wholesale in Newry, was led by Logistics UK’s Head of Trade & Devolved Policy, Nichola Mallon.
The Minister was joined by key figures from the logistics sector, including Maire-Claire Reid, Managing Director of TST Group and Chair of the Northern Ireland Freight Council; Graham Patchett, Vice Chair and Depot Transport Manager at Musgrave Retail Partners NI; Anthony McVeigh, CEO of S&W Wholesale; and Clive Whylie, Head of Operations at S&W Wholesale.
Discussions focused on the strategic importance of logistics to Northern Ireland’s economic health, and how infrastructure investment could unlock further growth and innovation across the sector.
Following the meeting, Ms Mallon said: “We would like to thank Minister Kimmins and her team for making the time to meet with representatives from the Logistics UK Northern Ireland Freight Council.
"Logistics sits at the heart of all economic activity and in Northern Ireland alone there are currently more than 65,000 people employed in logistics roles, in over 6,000 logistics businesses, making, selling and moving the goods that the economy relies on every day.”
She continued: “Without logistics, there is no trade. Logistics enabled Northern Ireland to export goods to the value of £19.56 billion in 2022.
"The contribution the sector already makes to the success of our economy cannot be understated but we also know significantly more opportunities could be forthcoming if our industry can realise its full potential, and that will be achieved by harnessing the power from prioritising the growth of logistics as a sector.”