Bord Bia, the Irish State food industry promotion agency, said today that Irish food and drink exports put in another excellent performance in 2007, rising by a further estimated €414 million to reach €8.62 billion. This follows the strong growth recorded in 2006 when exports exceeded €8 billion for the first time.

The strength of this performance is highlighted further when the competitive pressure facing the sector are considered, including a strengthening of the Euro against both the US dollar and significant sterling, a more consistent presence of competitive European suppliers on the UK market, rising ingredient and grain costs and the ongoing upward pressure on operating costs.

Overall the value of exports in 2007 recorded an estimated rise of over 5 per cent or €414 million to reach €8.62 billion.

The growth in the value of Irish food and drink exports was driven by the strength of the global market for dairy products, further diversification of Irish exports of prepared foods and a continued strong performance by cream liqueurs and whiskey. The only major product category to a show a decline was meat and livestock as a combination of lower supplies, competitive market conditions and rising production costs impacted on trade levels.

Bord Bia says that a significant element of the export performance of Irish food and drink exports in 2007 has been the ongoing market diversification. While the United Kingdom remained the key market accounting for 42 per cent of the total, the weakening of sterling in the latter half of 2007 placed increased pressure on the value of Irish exports to the market. Increased industry diversification particularly in dairy and prepared other foods saw a rise of four per cent in the value of shipments to EU member states . These markets now account for over 30 per cent of total food and drink exports.

Performance & Prospects Report