Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As we are all too aware, 2020 was an especially challenging year. While we had the expected uncertainty of Brexit, it was overshadowed by the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has referred to the sector demonstrating its resilience, which has been remarkable. The pandemic placed unprecedented stresses on food supply chains, with bottlenecks in farm labour, processing, transport and logistics, as well as momentous shifts in demand that could not have been predicted prior to the pandemic.

Many of these disruptions were a result of policies adopted to contain the spread of the virus, such as curtailments on the movement of people and social distancing. However, food supply chains performed exceptionally well in the face of these stresses. Grocery stores' shelves were replenished over time as stockpiling behaviour disappeared and the supply chains responded to the increased demand. During the pandemic, the food service industry across Europe and beyond experienced a nearly total collapse in demand due to the temporary shutdown of the hospitality sector, especially during the early part of the pandemic in the first lockdowns across Europe and the world.

While food retail demand increased, it did not offset the decline in food services. This demand imbalance had significant consequences for primary producers and agrifood businesses.

Regarding the economic impact caused by Covid, while domestic production was significantly impacted, the demand abroad for Irish food and drink products was disrupted. The OECD stated that enough food is available globally but Covid-19 is disrupting supply and demand in complex ways, manifesting across the food system as impacts on agricultural production and incomes, shifts in consumer demand and disruptions to food supply chains. This resilience of Ireland's agrifood exports in 2020 is also remarkable. Despite disruptions to supply and demand, agrifood exports in 2020 were €14.1 billion, compared with €14.5 billion the previous year, a 3% overall reduction. This is an extraordinary achievement when considering the challenges that food and drink producers have faced since March 2020.

The export figures for 2020 were released last Monday by the Central Statistics Office. They show that dairy and beef contribute €7.4 billion to our exports, which is over 52% of our total agrifood exports. Exports of dairy products exceeded €5 billion for the second year in a row, with exports to more than 130 countries around the globe. Despite the difficult year, dairy exports grew slightly, by about 1%, in 2020. Beef, our second largest export category, was worth more than €2.3 billion, down by 2% from 2019. This was a particularly good result, considering that the food service sector was closed in many of our export markets for most of 2020. Pigmeat, sheepmeat and poultry also contributed strongly to our exports, with €1.5 billion of these meats exported in 2020, similar to 2019.

With the closure of the hospitality sector across the globe, the beverage industry, especially Irish whiskeys and liquers, was impacted significantly, with total beverage exports down by about 15%, at €1.5 billion. Prior to the pandemic, Irish whiskeys and liquers had seen strong growth, especially in the US market.

Fish exports were hit hard by the closure of the food service industry. This had a substantial impact on the demand for species such as lobster, crab, prawns and oysters. Transport issues also impacted on fish exports. These factors resulted in live exports being down by 10% in 2020, to €521 million.

Live exports of animals were down by 25% compared with 2019. The reduction in exports was due to a number of factors. The peak time for exporting calves coincided with the start of the pandemic, resulting in much smaller numbers of calves being exported to continental Europe. Pig exports to Northern Ireland were down by about 80% and the export of purebred breeding horses around the world was down by about 20%, a significant impact on the thoroughbred breeding sector. Overall live animal exports were down from €455 million in 2019 to €340 million in 2020.

The effects of the pandemic can be seen when examining the destinations of agrifood exports in 2020 with exports declining by 10% or more to those countries which suffered the most due to the pandemic, such as the USA, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain. Exports to the UK accounted for 37% of total exports, down from 45% in 2010. While exports to countries outside the UK and EU accounted for 31%, up from 22% in 2010. These figures underline the dividend of a decade-long diversification strategy that has seen Ireland achieve a broad global base for its food and drink exports, which now reach in excess of 180 countries. Exports to countries such as the USA, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam have doubled in value over the past decade, with significant increases in the value of exports to Africa and the Middle East in more recent years as new international markets come to the fore.

The focus on securing new markets for Irish food while maintaining and enhancing existing markets is consistent with the overarching strategy for the agrifood sector jointly developed by my Department and sectoral stakeholders in Food Wise 2025. In responding to the UK's Brexit vote in June 2016, there has been intensification of market access activity by the Department and its agencies. This level of activity will continue as we work to ensure the development of Ireland's agrifood industry. In December, I, as Minister of State with responsibility for new market development, engaged in a series of market development and promotional events in key international markets in collaboration with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, Bord Bia and the Irish embassy network.

These were dairy-focused virtual events covering five key countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Bord Bia's research has identified these countries as having strong potential for growth in the export of Irish agrifood products. Virtual meetings were also held with key customers in China, Japan, the USA and the United Arab Emirates. I was very pleased to see that, in each of our meetings, the participation of both my Department's agricultural attachés and Bord Bia's local teams was very professional. Since my appointment as a Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I have become aware of how proud we can be of the Irish officials placed all around the world who wear the green jersey and fly the Irish flag and who do a fantastic job. They are really talented people who put Ireland's case forward and open many doors for the Irish agrifood industry and its products.

These virtual events also remind our key customers that Ireland remains committed to them and is able to supply foods in which their own customers can have confidence. My Government's particular focus in 2021 will be on supporting our primary producers and agrifood and drink manufacturers as they trade through continued uncertainty to support jobs in communities throughout Ireland. Also in 2021, my colleague, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and I will be working closely with Bord Bia on a series of market development and promotional events and ministerial-led trade missions to key international and European markets to further increase the footprint of Irish food and drink exports.

A further aspect of the food system that has changed due to the pandemic is consumer behaviour. There have been dietary shifts, an increase in home cooking and a heightened awareness of food safety and food security. With billions of people in lockdown, new behaviours have been forced upon consumers and there are real opportunities for food businesses here as a result. Understanding consumer behaviour is a critical part of enabling businesses to plan ahead appropriately and to move forward with confidence post Covid-19. It will be important to understand what behaviours are likely to stick and to emerge post crisis.

I pay tribute to our farmers, fishers and food and drink producers for their heroic efforts throughout 2020 while dealing with a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. They faced many challenges on domestic and international fronts arising from the economic impacts of the pandemic, closures of food services and changes in consumer behaviour. They rose to that challenge and I pay tribute to them for that effort. We all look forward together to brighter days ahead.

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