Food Research Ireland - Department of Agriculture

2.1 ACTING SMART, THINKING GREEN AND
ACHIEVING GROWTH – THE IRISH FOOD
SECTOR AND THE GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY
The future of the Irish economy has become increasingly dependent on
the agri-food and fisheries sector as our leading indigenous industry. The
over reliance on unsustainable sectors in recent years has confirmed that
if the Irish economy is to achieve sustainable growth and prosper once
again, emphasis must be refocused on improving Ireland’s export
performance, in which the food industry plays a key role.
Recognising the economic importance of the agri-food and fisheries
industry and the issues facing it, the Government established a high-level
industry group to develop a strategic vision for the long term
development of the food sector in 2009. This vision, set out in Food
Harvest 2020 focuses on three themes: Act Smart, Think Green, Achieve
Growth. The Vision is based on exploiting the green potential
(sustainability) of Ireland internationally; in addition to our competitive
advantages in grass based production and extensive marine territories,
ensuring optimum competitiveness leading to enhanced value-added
growth based on research and innovation.
Food Harvest 2020 set targets (Table 2.1) for increasing the production of
value added food products based on increased growth in the value of
primary output in the Irish agri-food and fisheries industry such that the
sector can reach a targeted increase in exports of 42 percent.
Table 2.1: Growth targets for agri-food and fisheries sector for 2020
(Source: Food Harvest 2020)
Metric 2020 Target Increase compared
to 2007 – 2009 average
Value Added Growth €3.0 b 40%
Raw Material Supply Growth €1.5 b 33%
Total Export Growth €4.5 b 42%
Specific growth targets (Table 2.2) for each food sector exist for the
period up to 2020. The vision of Ireland’s food industry is that of being
recognised as a leading exporter of quality food products; characterised
by growing sales to an increasingly diverse range of markets, and a
greater proportion of exports accounted for by high value-added
products, providing sustainable employment throughout Ireland.
Table 2.2: Specific sectoral growth targets (Food Harvest 2020).
Sector Target increase in volume and/or
value of output (%)
Dairy 50
Beef 40
Sheep 20
Pigmeat 50
Poultry 10
Seafood 43
Achieving this vision will mean:
■ Ireland’s Food sector will play a significant role in economic growth
with 50,000 people employed directly in the sector throughout
Ireland and exports of €12 billion by 2020.
■ Ireland’s food processing sector, informed by consumer and market
requirements, will have sufficient well-structured capacity to
efficiently, sustainably and cost-effectively process the output from
Ireland’s primary production sectors.
■ An industry which is underpinned and enabled by research and
innovation, notable for the degree of collaboration between
companies and research institutions, delivering innovative products
in key areas of opportunity such as ingredients, health and wellness,
and consumer foods.
Food Research Ireland
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