Nearly € 12 billion. Of which about € 500 million to Italy alone. That's how much the interchange between Ireland and other EU countries in the supply chains exhibitors at TUTTOFOOD amounted to in 2021, according to data compiled by Export Planning, accounting for more than 90 percent of the country's entire world interchange worth about € 14.6 billion.

Food has always been one of the leading sectors in the Emerald Isle's economy, and it is not surprising that the balance is positive for Irish world exports, € 9.7 billion against € 4.8 billion in imports. The latter figure is still a sizeable value, evidence of a dynamic consumer market and a vibrant out-of-home sector. But there’s more. In the coming years, interchange between Ireland and the rest of the world is expected to grow by 8.4 percent, to over € 20 billion in 2025. Ireland imports mainly baked goods, cakes and ice cream from abroad (more than € 1 billion in 2021), water, soft drinks and tea/coffee (€ 690 million) and milk and dairy products (€ 675 million).

Meat, a great Irish classic

The famous Irish meats are, of course, taking the lion's share of exports (€ 3.3 billion from exports to the world in 2021, of which € 2.7 billion to the EU), but milk and dairy products also performed well (€ 2.9 billion globally and € 1.9 billion in Europe) and alcoholic beverages (more than € 1.5 billion worldwide, € 692 million in Europe). The Irish Food Board itself confirmed the pivotal role of meat a few days ago, announcing an investment of more than one million euros to promote Irish beef in the United Kingdom and in the European Union. In particular, the campaign will focus on the guaranteed quality of Irish steaks in the UK, Italy, Belgium and Germany, while in the Netherlands the focus will be on stew meat cuts. Organic meats will instead be promoted online.

"We are aware of the challenges facing breeders at this time and believe that these promotional activities in Europe and the UK will boost sales in these countries,"explains Michael Murphy, the Board's Interim CEO. "The most significant challenge is negotiating price increases with existing customers in the current inflationary environment. That's why supply stability and long-term partnerships are even more important, such as those established in structured settings like trade shows."

At TUTTOFOOD 2023, at Fiera Milano from May 8 to 11, 2023, meats will be in the spotlight at the TUTTOMEAT area. To find out how to become an exhibitor at TUTTOFOOD visit this page. To participate as a professional visitor please go to this page.