Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon has told the Organic Strategy Forum that there are "opportunities for growth" in the organic tillage sector.

He as was speaking at a meeting of the forum today (Wednesday, April 16) at the headquarters of milling company Flahavan’s, in Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford.

Minister Heydon said: “The organic tillage sector is a real success story for Irish farming families. There is strong demand for organic oats, led by the UK market, with growing interest from international markets, including east Asia.

The minister cited Flahavan’s as an example of a family-run company that provided employment in rural Ireland in organic production "by adding value to oats to the point where it is currently the largest organic oat brand in the UK".

"This completely aligns with our aspirations for sustainable agriculture as set out in FoodVision 2030," the minister added.

"I would like to thank the forum members, including Flahavan’s, for their continued support of the sector. We have just had an excellent spring for sowing and hopefully we will see another year of growth in the organic sector," he said.

According to data provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, a number of high potential organic export markets returned to sales growth in 2023 (the last full year for which data is available) after a difficult trading period in 2022 due to high cost-of-living.

These included:

Germany (+5% organic sales, market worth €16 billion);
Belgium (+20% organic sales, market worth €1.1 billion);
UK (+2% organic sales, market worth £3.2 billion, or €3.73 billion at current exchange rates);
Netherlands (+50% organic sales growth since 2019, market worth €1.4 billion).

In 2023, the European retail market for organic food was valued at €55 billion, with increasing import demand across cereals, meat, dairy, and seafood.

The value of retail sales within Ireland increased by 5.3% in 2024, driven by more shoppers buying organic food in higher frequency and more volumes per trip to the shops.

The Organic Strategy Forum brings together 23 organisations across the supply chain from farm through to market. The forum offers a platform to identify and agree actions needed to promote growth and identify opportunities within the sector.

In September 2024, a new National Organic Strategy for 2024-2030 was launched. This was developed by the forum under the leadership of its chairperson, Pádraig Brennan.

Commenting at today's forum meeting, Brennan said: “Ireland's organic sector has made significant progress through greater investment and increased co-ordination of efforts. Collaboration is key to maintaining momentum in the sector.

"The strategy forum provides the platform for open dialogue, strategic alignment, and solutions-orientated thinking. We're delighted to meet in Flahavan's today, which provides a great example of how to grow the organic market," Brennan added.

Annie Flahavan, financial controller of Flahavan’s, commented: “Organic forms a large part of our business and we currently hold the position of number one selling organic oats brand in the UK. The demand for organic oat products is growing at a significant pace, and there are challenges in supply matching that demand."