Irish food and drink exports to the UK grew in 2024 to reach a record €5.9bn (£4.9bn), new data shows.
Figures from Bord Bia, Ireland’s food board, showed exports to the UK rose by 7% last year compared with the previous year.
Meat exports saw a 6% increase, reaching €1.6bn (£1.3bn), led by beef, which increased by 5%, standing at €1.3bn (£1bn).
Pigmeat exports rose 11% to €150m (£124m), and poultry surged 16% to €83m (£69m).
Bord Bia said the UK continued to be “the strongest market for Irish beef, driven by consumer demand, with increases in demand for steaks, roasts and mince”.
Irish dairy exports to the UK in 2024 were valued at €1.05bn (£871.6m), a year-on-year increase of 1%.
Meanwhile, packaged consumer foods exports climbed 11% to €2.3bn (£1.9bn), and drink exports from Ireland rose 3% to €331m (£276m), driven by strong growth in the ready-to-drink and whiskey categories, Bord Bia’s annual report showed.
Irish horticulture exports increased by 2% to €296m (£245m) last year, primarily driven by mushroom exports, and seafood goods saw a significant annual increase of 18% to €87m (£72m), fuelled by UK demand for “premium Irish seafood”.
The UK remained the largest single destination for Irish food and drink exports in 2024, with its share of exports estimated to have increased by one percentage point to almost 35%.
This was despite a challenging trade environment last year, when the UK government rolled out new controls on EU food and drink goods starting in April.
Meat and dairy products in particular faced onerous documentation requirements, including new export health certificates signed by vets, and physical checks at the borders.
Donal Denvir, Bord Bia’s UK director, attributed this to the “robust Ireland-UK trade ties”.
“This success highlights the quality and diversity of Irish products that UK customers and consumers trust and value,” he said. “This is a remarkable achievement when we consider the ongoing challenges facing global trade, including climate change, sustained high prices, and geopolitical uncertainty.
“The growth in exports, despite these challenging conditions, underscores the strong trade relationship between Ireland and the UK and highlights the quality of Irish products that UK consumers highly value. This would not be achievable without the dedication and output of our farmers, fishers, and innovative processors and other food and drink producers who play a crucial role in our sector.”
Meanwhile, UK food and drink exports to Ireland have remained stable, according to the latest figures from the FDF.
In the third quarter of 2024, British exports to Ireland grew 3% to £3.1bn, “demonstrating how current trading flexibility provides significant benefits in supplying the island of Ireland”, the FDF said.
This contrasts with the steep fall in British exports to the rest of the EU seen in recent years as trade with the continent became much harder due to Brexit restrictions.
Ireland remains the UK’s largest single trade partner and its closest trade ally in the bloc, with trade relations between Great Britain and the island of Ireland facilitated by the Windsor Framework, a deal between London and Brussels to preserve easy trade between both markets.
Overall, global exports of Irish food, drink, and horticulture grew by 5% to €17bn (£14.1bn) in 2024.
It marked a “milestone year for Irish food and drink exporters, despite enduring global trade challenges caused by geopolitical instability, fluctuating inflation and ongoing high trading costs”, the Irish food board said.
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