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Beer remains Ireland’s favourite alcoholic drink, with analysis by the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland showing beer owns 46% of the market share.
Some 40% of the beer produced in Ireland, worth €280m, was exported in 2016. This is up 23% in two years.
The Irish drinks industry purchases 10% of Ireland’s tillage crops annually. Irish breweries and distilleries purchase over 200,000t of barley every year.
However farmers receive a tiny portion of the overall price of alcoholic drinks.
A report launched in November 2017 by the joint Oireachtas committee on agriculture revealed malting barley growers receive just €0.05 or 1% from the price of a pint of Guinness, which is usually sold for €5.
The Irish Grain Growers group has staged several protests over the low price of malting barley in recent months. A new agreement signed by Boortmalt and the IFA this month includes an initial fixed price of €167.50/t excluding VAT fro 2018.
The spirits industry has boomed in recent years, as the number of licensed spirits producers in Ireland doubled between 2014 and 2016 and the value of Irish-produced spirits increased 6.1% to €805 million in 2016.
‘We’ve been totally ignored’ – Grain Growers return to Guinness Storehouse
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