Over €400 million worth of vegetables were imported into the country last year, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has confirmed.
The minister was responding to a parliamentary question from Kildare Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan who asked for details on the importation of vegetables to Ireland over the past four years.
Data on the value and volume of Irish trade in agri-food and prepared consumer foods is regularly supplied by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).
Vegetables
Minister McConalogue said that the figures for 2023, which are preliminary, show that imports of vegetables to Ireland last year stood at €412 million.
This related to some 342,760 tonnes of various vegetables being brought into the country.
The minister noted that the imports had increased by 17% in value and 6% in volume when compared to the 2022 figure.
This represented an increase of 17% in value and 6% in volume when compared to 2022.
The following table provides a breakdown of the value and volume of vegetable imports from 2020 until the end of last year.
Vegetable imports by year Value Volume 2020 €332.7 million 323,123t 2021 €319.5 million 304,585t 2022 €351.7 million 322,734t 2023 €412 million 342,760t
Minister McConalogue advised that “these figures exclude the separate category of vegetable-based products”.
“It is also important to consider agri-food imports in the context of corresponding exports. Ireland recorded a total agri-food trade surplus of more than €5 billion in 2023 overall.
“My department will continue to monitor trends in the value and volume of agri-food and prepared consumer food trade.
“I will also continue to work with stakeholders to realise the ambition set out in Food Vision 2030, in particular Mission Three – Food which is Safe, Nutritious and Appealing, Trusted and Valued at Home and Abroad,” the minister added.