What is Foreign Trade?
 Foreign trade is the sale of products and services from
one country to another.
 It consists of importing and exporting:
 Importing: The purchase of goods and services from
other countries for sale in Ireland.
 Exporting: When Irish goods and services are sold to
other countries.
Why do we Import Food?
 We do not have a suitable climate to grow certain
foods, E.g. bananas, oranges, coffee
 The Irish consumer wants variety.
 Skills and tradition that are needed to produce certain
goods are only available in certain countries, so if we
want these goods we must import them, E.g. French
wine, tea
Why do we Export Food?
 Ireland needs to export goods in order to bring foreign
currency into the country. This currency is used to pay
for imports.
 Some countries are unable to produce large quantities
of food products because their land or climate is
unsuitable. This is not so in Ireland so we export to
these countries.
 To increase the profit and sales of Irish companies.
Irish Dairy Exports
Value:
€3.06 billion
Top 5 exports to: U.K.
China
Germany
Netherlands
USA
Facts:
Ireland supplies 10% of the global
infant milk formula despite only
having 1% of global milk production.
Irish Horticulture Exports
Value:
€230 million
Definition: The export of fruit, vegetables and plants
Facts:
 50% of our horticulture exports are mushrooms.
 In 2013, 600,000 Christmas trees were harvested in
Ireland, 200,000 of these were exported.
 92% of horticulture exports were
to the U.K.
Irish Beverage Exports
Value:
€1.2 billion
Facts:
 60% rise in exports since 2009.
 Irish whiskey is the fastest growing spirit in the
world with 7 million cases exported annually.
 Alcohol account for 75% of beverage exports.
 Water accounts for 10% of beverage exports.
 We export beverages to 125 countries.
Irish Meat and Livestock Exports
Value:
€3.9 billion
Facts:
 This accounts for 35% of all food and drink
exports.
 65,000 tonnes of pig meat exported annually.
 Irish beef is stocked in 82 supermarket chains
across Europe.
 Poultry exports have increased by 20% percent
since 2013.
Irish Prepared Foods Exports
Value:
€1.8 billion
Definition: Prepared foods include baked goods,
confectionary, snacks, chilled food, ready meals and
cooked meats.
Facts:
 11% of exported prepared foods is chocolate.
 Prepared foods exports to Poland have increased
by 60% since 2012.
Irish Seafood Exports
Value:
€540 million
Facts:
 70% rise in value of seafood exports since 2009.
 60% of all seafood is to EU market.
 11,000 employed by seafood sector.
 Ireland is the leader in organic aquaculture,
producing 20,000 tonnes of organic salmon and
mussels annually.
Annual Food Export Breakdown
Dairy
Beverages
Meat and Livestock
Prepared foods
Fish
Horticulture
Irish Food Imports
 3.5 million tonnes of the food we consume each year
originates somewhere else. That means half the
annual consumer spend on food and drink is on
foreign products.
 Food imports to Ireland soared by 50% between 2002
and 2007
Value of Irish Imports
 Irish annual imports include:
 €157m worth of beef
 €478m worth of dairy products
 124,250 tonnes of potatoes, worth €75m
 €799m worth of cereals
 €958m worth of fruit and veg
 €282m worth of poultry
 €711m worth of drinks
 13m tonnes of bananas
Are we Really Eating Irish Food?
 80% of people who buy imported food believe it is
made here.
 Companies use clever marketing such as "Ireland's
favourite" can hide the fact that an item is imported.
 The average person eats €1,000 worth of imported
products annually.
Famous Irish Food Products
Produced abroad
Produced in Ireland
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Barry's tea
Cadbury chocolate
Club orange
Batchelor's
Cidona
Flahvans
Brennan's bread
Denny
Tic Tacs
Tayto Crisps
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Lyons tea
Charleville Cheese
Erin packet soup
Heinz
HB ice-cream
Jacobs biscuits
Cully and Sully Soup
Fruitfield Old Time Irish
marmalade
 Boyne Valley Honey
Food Brands Produced Here
Food Brands Produced Abroad
Irish Food Imports vs Exports 2014
(€ billion)
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Imports
Exports
Import Substitution
 Import substitution is the purchase of Irish made
goods instead of foreign imports.
 This will result in:
 A decreased amount of food imported
 An increase in profits for Irish food firms
 The creation of more jobs for Irish people