Food and drink exports increased by 1 per cent last year, despite the BSE crisis and a drop in the international price of dairy products, Bord Bia has reported. The exports rose to £4.739 billion last year, and the chairman of the board, Mr Philip Lynch, predicted yesterday that this year they would grow by 5 per cent.
He said that despite problems in the largest two sectors, beef and milk, strong growth was evident in consumer foods, food ingredients, drink and meats.
Prepared consumer goods exhibited the strongest growth, up about 12 per cent to over £680 million. Export earnings in the drinks sector increased by 7 per cent to nearly £500 million and pigmeat and lamb increased by 10 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
Bord Bia's chief executive, Mr Michael Duffy, said that despite continued difficulty in the markets, beef production was up by 11 per cent to 535,000 tonnes, and 90 per cent of this was marketed commercially.
He said that despite the sharp drop in prices, export volumes of beef were down marginally over the previous year. Although prices declined by 15 per cent, export volumes fell by only 5 per cent and the exports were worth £1.53 billion.
Explaining the difficulties in the dairy sector, Mr Duffy said that a combination of weaker demand and increased supplies on the world market, and a strengthening of the pound, led to a challenging scenario last year.
The effects were clearly evident in the value of dairy exports which fell by 10 per cent to £1.53 billion in 1996, compared to £1.70 billion the previous year.
Live cattle exports, he said, had declined in 1996 by almost 50 per cent to 190,000 head. Exports to international markets, at 139,000 head, were 48 per cent lower than in 1995.
Referring to the BSE crisis, Mr Duffy said that beef markets worldwide had changed completely since March 1996. EU consumers were displaying a strong preference for domestically produced beef.
"Ireland's position as the largest net exporter of beef in the northern hemisphere means that we are very sensitive to market pressures in a unique and difficult situation," he said.
"Strategically, Bord Bia focused on maintaining the presence of Irish beef in all markets by ensuring that the facts on Irish beef, including Ireland's strong regulatory controls, were understood fully by our customers."
The recent survey conducted by Bord Bia had found that beef consumption in Ireland was almost back to pre-BSE crisis levels and the overall consumption level last June had increased by 8.4 per cent on 1996 levels.
Mr Lynch said that the 1990s would be remembered as the decade of the consumer.