Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of companies involved in the agri-food sector; the number of companies in the agri-food sector for each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32872/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food publishes detailed data on the agri-food sector based on CSO Census of Industrial Production (CIP) data. This data is published in the Compendium of Agriculture Statistics on an annual basis. The Compendium is available under the Publications section of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's website at www.agriculture.gov.ie. The table gives details, in terms of the number of companies in the agri-food sector for the ten year period between 1997 and 2006, the most recent year for which data is available:

* Includes Manufacture of Food Products and Beverages only

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 119: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of companies involved in food processing; the breakdown between large companies and smaller micro enterprises involved in food processing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32873/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Central Statistics Office (CSO) publishes detailed data on the food-manufacturing sector in its Census of Industrial Production (CIP), which is an annual publication. The CIP is available under the Industry publications section of the CSO website at http://www.cso.ie/ The table gives details, in terms of the breakdown between larger and smaller companies involved in food processing for 2006, the most recent year for which data is available:

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of agrifood businesses that have been created over the past five years; the average size of new agrifood businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32874/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food publishes detailed data on the agrifood sector based on CSO Census of Industrial Production (CIP) data. This data is published in the Compendium of Agriculture Statistics on an annual basis. The Compendium is available under the Publications section of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's website at www.agriculture.gov.ie .

The data in the CIP does not enumerate the number of businesses created in any given sector; rather it presents the level in terms of the number of businesses in the sector. The following table gives details, in terms of the number of companies in the agrifood sector for the 5-year period between 2002 and 2006, the most recent year for which data is available:

* Includes Manufacture of Food Products and Beverages only

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of jobs created in the agrifood sector in the past five years; the number of job losses in the agrifood sector in the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32875/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food publishes detailed data on employment in the agrifood sector based on two sources, the CSO Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) and the CSO Census of Industrial Production (CIP). This data is published in the Compendium of Agriculture Statistics on an annual basis. The Compendium is available under the Publications section of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's website at www.agriculture.gov.ie. Because of methodological differences these datasets will not be identical nor will either enumerate the number of jobs created or lost in any given sector, rather they presents the level in terms of the numbers employed or number of people engaged in the sector. The table below gives details, in terms of these variables for the most recent 5-year periods available under the given surveys:

Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS): Employment Level

Census of Industrial Production (CIP): Number of People Engaged

* Includes Manufacture of Food Products and Beverages only

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 122: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of food production companies that are involved in organic production; the number of companies that are involved in organic production in each of the past five years; the number of organic companies as a percentage of total companies involved in the agrifood sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32876/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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At present, there are total of 213 companies involved in organic food production in this country. The number of companies involved in organic food production over the past 5 years is as follows: 2004 – 107 2005 – 112 2006 – 142 2007 – 200 2008 – 210

The figure of 213 companies involved in organic food production includes farm based food processing units and is therefore not comparable with Central Statistics Office data available in relation to companies involved in the agrifood sector.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 123: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of agrifood companies as a percentage of total companies and businesses here; the number of export orientated agrifood companies as a percentage of export orientated companies here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32877/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Central Statistics Office (CSO) publishes detailed data on the overall Industry sector, including the food-manufacturing sector in its Census of Industrial Production (CIP), which is an annual publication. The CIP is available under the Industry publications section of the CSO website at http://www.cso.ie/ The CIP indicates that in 2006 (most recent data available) a little over 14% of local units in the manufacturing industry sector were engaged in food and beverage production. The CIP does not include a definition or measurement for export orientated companies. The CIP does show that in 2006, the sector accounted for approximately half of exports (circa €3.7bn) by indigenous manufacturing industries (total circa €7.3Bn).