Agriculture, Food and the Marine | To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine the extent to which the poultry section here including exports continues to be viable

To ask the Minister for Agriculture; Food and the Marine the extent to which the poultry section here including exports continues to be viable; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY


Poultrymeat, which is a food high in protein, has seen an increase in demand in recent years.

Poultry throughput for 2021 was slightly down on 2020 (-1.1%) with a total of 110.4 million birds processed. The current average price of 222.18 cents/kg is the highest level seen in recent years.

CSO figures show that while the volume of exports fell by 29.3% to 94,295 tonnes in 2021, the value of Irish poultry exports for 2021 fell by 7.2% to just under €237m. The UK (€181m) accounted for 76.5% of exports. France (€8.4m), Germany (€6.5m), Netherlands (€14.8m) and Ghana (€5m) also featured prominently as export destinations.

As of March 2022 Y-T-D the value of poultrymeat exports was 70% higher than the same period of 2021,  at €79.6 million. 

As in other meat sectors, global trade conditions will be crucial in determining the outlook for the Irish poultry sector over the medium to longer term. 

I am acutely aware of the pressures being faced by many in the agri-food sector due to the increase in input costs, exacerbated by the impact of the illegal war in Ukraine. My Department continues to monitor the markets and any impacts on the agri-food sector.