Irish food and drink exports rose by 3% to a record €10.8bn last year, according to Bord Bia’s annual trade report.

Among the different farm enterprises, beef had a good export performance, with volumes down slightly but prices well up. Dairy had a more middling year – volumes were up but prices fell. Pigmeat had a downright difficult year – volumes were up but prices down all year. Sheepmeat export earnings were steady.

Among the cousins, whiskey continues to be the star performer of the drinks sector which overall rose by 10%. Exports of seafoods and prepared consumer foods had more modest growth.

In the background, the drivers of overall exports in 2015 were higher farm output and weakening of the euro. Higher output boosted exports by €450m, Bord Bia says. The extra output was mainly in milk and pigmeat.

With 41% of our food exports going to the UK and 28% to markets that predominantly trade in US dollars, any movement in the euro against sterling and the dollar has a big effect. The euro weakened by 10% relative to sterling and by 16% against the dollar last year. According to Bord Bia, this boosted the value of exports by a huge €950m.

In more detail, the tonnage of beef exports was down 4% but market prices rose 11%. Cattle prices were up and live exports, for all types, down.

Milk supplies rose 11% and the value of dairy exports by 4%. There was significant growth in nutritional dairy powders, particularly to China.

However, cheese, a star performer in other years, saw a 7% drop in export returns, despite bigger tonnages shipped out.

Pigmeat export volumes rose 8% but lower market prices saw export values fall by 2%. Pig prices fell 10%.

Mixed signals

There are mixed signals ahead for 2016. Weighing on prospects are the ongoing Russian embargo, the weakening Chinese economy and stagnant consumer demand in our home EU market.

Of help is the fact that the euro is expected to remain weak relative to sterling and the US dollar, and there will be more Irish milk and beef available in 2016 for export.

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