Record year for Irish food & drink exports

Irish food, drink and horticulture exports reached €13 billion in 2019, according to Bord Bia's Export Performance and Prospects report 2019/2020. This is the highest level of exports in Bord Bia's 25-year history and brings to a close a decade of consistent growth in which food, drink and horticulture exports have grown by 67%, or €5.5 billion, since 2010.

Commenting on the findings, Tara McCarthy, CEO of Bord Bia, said that nearly half of that growth came from exports to places outside of the EU. "This decade has seen over €2 billion more worth of dairy leaving Ireland's shores while Irish whiskey also saw a significant 370% increase in its global export footprint to be worth €727 million in 2019. China, including Hong Kong, is now the largest market outside of those in the EU for Irish beef, with future growth anticipated in the coming years as a result of rising consumption and increasing consumer preference for high quality beef."

Sector Analysis

Dairy

Ireland’s dairy sector grew in value by 11% in 2019 to €4.4 billion. Reaching a value of €1.2 billion, butter remained the category leader in 2019. Increasing diversification proved fruitful for Irish cheese exporters, with an overall increase of 22% in exports.

Meat and livestock

Meat and livestock recorded a 1% decrease in value to €3.9 billion. The decrease was driven by a challenging year for beef and sheepmeat while there was very strong category performance across both poultry and pigmeat. Irish pigmeat export values approached €1 billion for the first time.

Beverages

Spearheaded by strong growth in Irish whiskey, Irish alcohol exports increased by 8% to €1.45 billion in 2019. Irish whiskey exports grew by 11% in 2019 to €727 million. The cream liqueur sector held firm with overall export sales of 7.9 million cases.

Seafood

Led by Asian demand for high value products, seafood exports grew by 6% in 2019. Across the sector, Irish exports of seafood are now worth €605 million, though growth by category was mixed in 2019.

Horticulture

Edible horticulture and cereal exports were up 8% to €248 million in 2019. Currency volatility, cost increases and uncertainty in the UK consumer market - the destination for almost all Irish mushroom exports - resulted in continued consolidation in the sector. Despite this, the category’s exports grew in 2019 by 4% to €104 million.

Prepared foods and prepared consumer foods

Irish exports of prepared consumer foods and prepared foods returned to growth in 2019 following a challenging 2018. Exports from the prepared foods sector increased by 12% to €2.32 billion. Exports of prepared consumer foods increased by 2% to €2.66 billion, with the UK accounting for 67% of these exports.