Irish agri-food exports recached a record €20.8 billion in 2025, an increase of almost €1.8 billion or 9% year-on-year.

This was according to a statement released today (November 8), following the launch of the Annual Review and Outlook for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2025-2026.

Presenting the Annual Review and Outlook report, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, said that in 2025, agri-food exports made up "8% of all goods exported from Ireland".

"The sector is globally oriented, with approximately 90% of Irish beef, sheep meat and dairy produce exported annually.

Irish agri-food produce was exported to over 180 countries, with the largest export categories being:

Dairy, valued at €7.2 billion (+11% year-on-year), with butter achieving €1.9 billion (26% of the total value of dairy exports), and cheese achieving €1.7 billion (24% of dairy exports);
Beef, valued at €3.6 billion (+17% year-on-year), with 63% of value achieved by fresh or chilled boneless beef;
Beverages, valued at €2.2 billion (+2% year-on-year), with Irish whiskey reaching €956 million.
Seafood valued at €668 million (+12% year-on-year), with the EU accounting for 60% of Irish seafood exports by value;
Fruit and vegetables valued at €259 million (+2% year-on-year), with 65% of value achieved by fresh or chilled mushrooms.

According to the report, the UK consistently ranked as the top destination for Irish agri-food exports (39% by value), followed by the Netherlands (10% by value), and the United States (9% by value).

After the Netherlands,  France (6%), Germany (6%), and Italy (3%) were the top EU destinations for Irish agri-food exports.

EU Member States accounted for €7.5 billion (36%) of Irish agri-food exports and global markets (excluding the EU and UK) accounted for the remaining €5.4 billion (25%), the report said.

2026 exports

This year to date, Irish agri-food exports have also performed well, according to Minister Heydon.

"While preliminary figures up to August show a marginal decline in overall value (-1.3%), several categories experienced an upturn, most notably beverages, poultry and cereal and cereal preparation," he said.

"It should also be noted that despite declining slightly relative to 2025, agri-food exports in the year-to-date remain 11% higher by value when compared with the same period in 2024."

Value versus volume

He explained that the growth in agri-food exports had largely been driven by value rather than volume in recent years, "keeping with the approach to delivering sustainable agriculture and food as set out in Food Vision 2030".

Referring to Vision 2030, Minister Heydon said it was Ireland’s stakeholder-led strategy for the sector, "which sets out a vision for Ireland to be a world leader in sustainable food systems, encompassing environmental, economic and social sustainability".

 He added that Food Vision 2030 reflected the importance of diversifying and developing new markets for Ireland’s agri-food products in the UK, EU and wider international markets.

The report detailed that notable market access successes in recent years included beef access to South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, sheep meat to Algeria; and poultry to Malaysia and the Philippines.

Expanded access to a number of markets have also been achieved, including Japan and Vietnam. "Food security is among the issues considered in the Annual Review and Outlook and will also be considered in the forthcoming mid-term review of Food Vision 2030, Minister Heydon added.