The total value of food and live animal exports from Ireland grew to more than €9.5 billion in the first eight months of this year, according to a new report published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Monday, October 16).
Corresponding statistics for the same period a year earlier showed that the total value of food and live animal exports from Ireland was just over €9.3 billion.
The latest CSO report also details that the value of “live animal exports” grew to €397 million between January and August – up from €324 million compared to 2022 figures.
According to the CSO, exports of meat and meat preparations totalled just over €3 billion in the first eight months of the year while “dairy products and birds’ eggs” were valued at more than €2.6 billion.
Analysis by the national statistical office also highlights the key destinations for food and live animal exports from Ireland.
Between August and January, food and live animals totalling more than €2.5 billion were exported to Great Britain and more than €1.1 billion to Northern Ireland.
More than €3.3 billion worth of food and live animals was exported to other EU countries while €488 million was exported to the United States in the first eight months of 2023.
The latest CSO report also details that China was the destination for €389 million worth of exports of food and live animals over the same period while there was also more than €1.5 billion of similar exports to “the rest of world”.
CSO
According to the national statistical office, Ireland imported food and live animals to the value of more than €6.5 billion in the first eight months of the year – specifically €161 million worth of live animals and €761 million worth of meat and meat preparations.
Meanwhile the latest CSO report on Goods Exports and Imports also outlines that exports of goods were €16 billion for the month of August.
According to Ciarán Counihan, CSO statistician in the international trade in goods division, in August, Ireland’s “unadjusted exports of goods decreased by €3.3 billion to €16 billion when compared with August 2022”.
The total value of food and live animal exports in August was €1.2 billion while the imports of food and live animals in the same month was €819 million.