There were almost 100,000 tonnes of bananas and 66,000 tonnes of apples imported in 2020. Nearly 80% of the imports of bananas came from Costa Rica (43,000 tonnes) and Belize (37,000 tonnes). The total value of the bananas imported in 2020 was €56 million. There were also 7,000 tonnes of pineapples imported from Costa Rica in 2020.
Over 55,000 tonnes of oranges and mandarins were imported in 2020, at a value of €56 million. The biggest import partners were South Africa (11,000 tonnes) and Spain (14,000 tonnes). There were also nearly 13,700 tonnes of lemons imported in 2020, 12,800 tonnes of grapes and 11,600 tonnes of pears.
| X-axis label | tonnes |
|---|---|
| Nuts | 5691 |
| Avocados | 6635.03943717052 |
| Pineapples | 8089 |
| Berries | 8569.24444628703 |
| Lemons | 9770 |
| Pears | 11622.9715091048 |
| Grapes | 12853 |
| Melons | 13729.4857899957 |
| Mandarins | 27708.0753308172 |
| Oranges | 28024.0521280189 |
| Apples | 65673 |
| Bananas | 99674 |
Ireland imported 75,000 tonnes of potatoes in 2020, with a value of €35 million. We also imported 38,500 tonnes of onions (€23 million), 25,000 tonnes of tomatoes (€46 million), 25,000 tonnes of cabbage (€26 million) and 20,000 tonnes of carrots (€12 million) in 2020.
In 2020, Ireland exported 45,000 tonnes of mushrooms, at a value of €116 million.
| X-axis label | Value €m | 000 tonnes |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 34.8691080244683 | 75.3965336541743 |
| Onions | 23.232030727029 | 38.5030485471106 |
| Tomatoes | 45.871733045754 | 25.194371912456 |
| Cabbage | 26.4952281717661 | 24.629226295253 |
| Carrots, turnips | 12.3789663851868 | 20.6536794168634 |
| Lettuce | 21.3142058569943 | 12.8407800025142 |
| Mushrooms | 21.0365353726786 | 10.6364773969168 |
| Cucumber | 11.7213571044277 | 7.22166616090225 |
| Garlic | 9.56543537119375 | 4.96952145517927 |
Exports of cow, sheep, pig meat and poultry amounted to almost €3.2 billion in 2020 with exports of bovine meat and offal accounting for over two-thirds of this value. There were 472,000 tonnes of bovine meat and offal exported in 2020, with a value of €2.1 billion. The graph below shows the relatively high unit value per tonne of bovine meat in comparison to that of pig, sheep and poultry.
| X-axis label | €m | 000 tonnes |
|---|---|---|
| Poultry | 129.52 | 110.54 |
| Pig meat and offal | 560.5 | 224.69 |
| Sheep meat and offal | 355.48 | 64.04 |
| Bovine meat and offal | 2127.58 | 472.71 |
| Table 6.1 Exports of meat and offal 2020 | ||
| Product | €million | '000 tonnes |
| Bovine meat | 1,934 | 388 |
| Bovine offal | 194 | 84 |
| Pig meat | 517 | 192 |
| Pig offal | 43 | 33 |
| Sheep meat | 342 | 57 |
| Sheep offal | 14 | 7 |
| Poultry | 130 | 111 |
| Total | 3,173 | 872 |
Imports of cow, sheep, pig meat and poultry were valued at €573 million in 2020, of which almost 40%, or €223 million was pig meat. There were 63,000 tonnes of pig meat and offal imported in 2020, and almost 70,000 tonnes of poultry imported.
| Table 6.2 Imports of meat and offal 2020 | ||
| Product | €million | '000 tonnes |
| Bovine meat and offal | 111 | 26 |
| Pig meat and offal | 223 | 64 |
| Sheep meat and offal | 37 | 7 |
| Poultry | 202 | 70 |
| Total | 573 | 166 |
In 2020, Ireland exported €2.7 billion of butter, milk and cheese. Butter accounted for 37% of the export value of these dairy products, recording exports of just over €1 billion.
The UK is the largest export market for butter, milk and cheese, with exports of €767 million of these products to the UK in 2020. Exports of €260 million of butter and €150 million of milk to the Netherlands were recorded. There was €64 million of milk exported to China in 2020, with €55 million going to Nigeria. There was also €54 million of cheese exported to Japan and €48 million to Algeria.
Imports of milk were valued at €312 million in 2020, with €242 million coming from the UK. There were imports of €276 million of cheese in 2020, with €175 million also coming from the UK.
| X-axis label | Exports | Imports |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1016 | 70 |
| Cheese | 1034 | 276 |
| Milk | 679 | 312 |
| Table 6.3 Exports of dairy products 2020 | |||||||
| Butter | Cheese | Milk | |||||
| Country | €million | Country | €million | Country | €million | ||
| Netherlands | 260 | UK | 463 | Netherlands | 150 | ||
| UK | 163 | Germany | 125 | UK | 141 | ||
| United States | 192 | Netherlands | 69 | China | 64 | ||
| Germany | 146 | Japan | 54 | Nigeria | 55 | ||
| Belgium | 70 | Algeria | 48 | Algeria | 36 | ||
| Rest of World | 185 | Rest of World | 275 | Rest of World | 233 | ||
| Total | 1,016 | Total | 1,034 | Total | 679 | ||
Ireland exported almost €900 million of infant formula in 2020. Over 40% of these exports, valued at €364 million, were exported to China. The UK, France, Saudi Arabia and Germany along with China comprised the five largest markets for this product.
| X-axis label | Value of Exports |
|---|---|
| China | 363.958161 |
| UK | 91.2011081801373 |
| France | 58.815907 |
| Saudi Arabia | 42.845484 |
| Germany | 34.556068 |
| Hong Kong | 28.124793 |
| Taiwan | 25.440137 |
| Netherlands | 19.305666 |
| Turkey | 16.967298 |
| Iraq | 14.234645 |
| Rest of World | 200.324468076699 |
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