How have Irish food and drink exports performed in 2019?

Irish food and drink exports reached a record €13bn in 2019, which is up 7% on last year. For the first time ever, the EU accounts for a larger share (35% or €4.5bn) of Irish food and drinks exports than the UK (34% or €4.4bn). That’s a really interesting dynamic. At the same time, our food exports to international markets have grown to €4.1bn and now account for 31% of the total. Dairy has been the absolute driving force of much of this export growth, while whiskey exports are also contributing strongly.

How did Ireland’s meat and dairy sectors perform last year?

Our dairy industry exported €4.4bn worth of products last year, which was up a very strong 11% year on year. Butter continues to be an extraordinary performer, with exports growing 13% to reach €1.1bn last year. Cheese exports grew by 22% to almost €1bn, while skimmed milk powder (SMP) exports grew a massive 55% last year to €331m. On the meat side, 2019 was a challenging year for our beef and sheep farmers. That has resulted in a decline in exports for our meat industry. Beef exports were down 7% to €2.25bn, while sheepmeat exports were also back 7% to €294m. However, our pigmeat sector had a really positive year, with exports up 13% to €940m.

What economic factors drove export growth in 2019?

Global consumer spending remains strong, despite all the talk of an economic slowdown. The demand for proteins continues to increase. However, the increased global demand for protein was at a different pace than the EU market where there was lower demand, particularly for beef and sheepmeat. Our meat industry also had its supply challenges in 2019 and export volumes of beef and sheepmeat were down last year.

What impact did Brexit uncertainty have on exports?

Obviously Brexit played a huge role in the performance of our food exports, because there was a significant lack of confidence in the UK consumer last year. This is really showing up in the foodservice side of the UK market, where the lack of disposable income for many consumers is affecting the choice to eat out. However, the euro weakened against the US dollar in 2019, which made Irish exports to international markets more competitive.

How have Irish food and drink exports fared over the last decade?

It’s been an extraordinary decade for the Irish food and drinks sector, with many years of sustained growth. Just a decade ago, this was being classified as a sunset industry with its best years behind it. But our food industry has been agile and grown exports by 67% in value over the last decade. That’s an added €5.6bn worth of food exports over the last 10 years.