Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

969. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the latest data on the value of trade with the UK for agrifood products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3698/20]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The United Kingdom (Great Britain & Northern Ireland) is Ireland’s largest trading partner with 37.7% of total agrifood sector goods exported to the UK and 46.3% of agrifood goods imported from the UK in 2019.

In 2018, total agrifood exports to the UK were €5.6 billion (40.7%), while imports totalled €4.5 billion, (45.8%) giving Ireland a trade surplus with the United Kingdom of approximately €1.1 billion in agrifood goods.

Preliminary figures for 2019 indicate that exports to the UK decreased slightly to €5.47 billion in 2019, while imports from the UK increased to €4.65 billion, giving Ireland a trade surplus with the United Kingdom of approximately €820 million. Ireland’s top exports to the United Kingdom in 2019 were dairy products and beef, each of which accounted for over €1 billion in exports to the country.

The largest imports from the UK in 2019 were cereal and cereal preparations worth €730 million, dairy products at €607 million and beverages at €437 million.

The following table provide a full breakdown of trade with the UK during the period 2018 & 2019 in respect of both value and volume of goods based on CSO data. The 2019 data is provisional with final 2019 data available in mid-March.