Imports of maize, barley and wheat are down on 2019 levels for the period from the start of January to the end of July according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
In fact, imports in some cases are back to the same levels they were at in 2017.
The majority of these grains are used for animal feed, but some are also used in the production of food and drink for human consumption.
It should be noted that the figures below come from the CSO and are subject to change. The figures include imports to this country from January 1 to July 31, 2020.
Maize
Up until the end of July 2020, 670,594t of maize (unmilled) were imported into the Republic of Ireland in 2020. 90,243t arrived in July.
The majority of maize so far this year has come from Ukraine and Canada.
Barley
Approximately 66,519t of barley were imported into this country from January 2020 to the end of July 2020.
19,352t of barley were imported in July and the majority of imports throughout the year so far have come from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Wheat
78,483t of wheat have been imported from January 2020 to July 2020. Approximately 144,271t were imported during the same time in 2019; 219,893t in 2018; and 165,452t were imported in 2017.
Approximately 18,091t of wheat were imported in July. The majority of wheat imported into this country came from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Malt
A total of 17,712t of malt were imported to the Republic of Ireland in the period from January to July 2020.
Approximately 2,652t of malt were imported in July.
Of the total malt imported up until the end of July 2020, approximately 8,641t came from Belgium and approximately 7,380t came from Great Britain.