The Irish Creamery Milk Supplier Association (ICMSA) has called on the next government to develop a programme for enhancing Ireland’s sustainable food production.

It comes after the Irish economy recorded €17 billion of exports in 2024 which ICMSA president Denis Drennan said is a testament to the hard work and ingenuity of farmers and the food industry.

He added that results were even more notable given that 2024 was actually an extremely difficult year for farming.

Drennan said the figures highlighted the important role played by the food industry in delivering net foreign earnings back and into Irish townlands, as opposed to the accounting balances of specific companies.

“These figures underline the enormous potential of our modern sustainable food sector in Ireland, and it is important that the next programme for government acknowledges this potential, sets out measures to develop its potential on a sustainable basis, and takes a proactive approach to its development rather than the negative approach of the previous government.”

Sustainable food

These export figures have low import content and the revenue generated from them is retained within Ireland and not ‘repatriated’ anywhere, according to the ICMSA.

Drennan added that the European Union (EU) appears to have begun recognising the importance of sustainable food production.

He called on the Irish government to allow farmers to develop a sustainable growth orientated food sector delivering for the Irish economy and family incomes in a way that can attract young farmers.

“Ireland is now and can continue to be a leader in sustainable food production, we can build on these exports and makes agriculture attractive to the next generation,” added Drennan.

“But this requires sensible policies and most particularly policy based on collaboration with farmers working on defined objectives - as opposed to ‘top-down’ negativity which has been the policy for the last number of years.”

Read more

Irish food and drink exports hit record €17bn in 2024