The food board’s Brexit Barometer showed that four in five of all exporters surveyed “believe there is still significant potential for future growth in the UK market” and this is despite 85% of exporters saying that they are facing into increased competition from UK-based suppliers.

Worryingly, however, of the 139 food, drink and horticulture exporters who completed the Brexit Barometer survey, 61% admitted to not having a marketing strategy for the UK market.

Bord Bia chief executive Tara McCarthy said food exporters will have to work harder and smarter to be successful in the UK as a consequence of Brexit.

“Brexit will demand a nuanced and concerted response from every level of the food industry. It will require new skills, new approaches and new thinking. We will need to be innovative, agile, informed and prepared as never before. These are demands that will be made on Bord Bia as much as the industry we represent. Following what we believe to be the most comprehensive industry analysis to date, we are currently engaged in a comprehensive review of our structures and programmes to ensure that we perform to the level required of us in this changing and challenging environment.”

UK dependence

While the report highlights that strong UK trading relationships exist, Irish exporters realise that dependence on the UK market is too great and diversification will be important going forward.

Respondents to the survey did show hope in relation to reducing this dependence, with over 80% believing there are viable alternative markets for their products. However, sectors such as beef and cheddar cheese will be challenged to find replacement markets.

The lamb sector could also be vulnerable, with approximately 380,000 sheep exported from Northern Ireland to plants south of the border for processing each year. In any one year, this can account for between 3% and 17% of throughput in Irish plants in the Republic and a hard border could have significant implications on this level of live exports. However, there is the belief that the opportunity exists to build stronger relationships with UK customers through the development of a UK-specific marketing strategy, a trend which is echoed throughout every sector in the report.

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