How important is the food industry to the Irish economy?

The food industry is Ireland’s largest indigenous manufacturing sector and it accounts for over half of the exports by Enterprise Ireland (EI) clients. EI has more than 600 food and beverage clients, which employ almost 62,500 people between them.

How exposed is the food industry to Brexit?

Our research tells us that more than 100 of our client companies are heavily exposed to Brexit based on their level of exports to the UK market. Other companies are also very exposed through supply chains and proximity to the border.

How has EI helped companies prepare for Brexit?

Last year, EI approved €74m in Brexit related funding for our clients. In addition, we’ve seen a very strong uptake of our ‘Brexit: Act On’ initiative from food companies, which seeks to help companies with financial and currency management, strategic sourcing, logistics and customs.

Companies need to view innovation and new product development as an investment for the future and not as a cost

Is the Irish food industry prepared for a no-deal Brexit?

It varies by sector. Some companies have had robust conversations with UK customers about what they can and can’t do in a no-deal scenario. Others have done really detailed analysis around the additional costs from Brexit. However, I’m confident that virtually all food client companies have made some level of a Brexit plan by now.

How exposed is the Irish meat industry?

The shock of a no-deal Brexit will be very challenging for the Irish meat industry. Rightly or wrongly, the larger meat companies have tried to balance their businesses between the UK and Ireland by buying processing businesses in the UK. It’s a sensible thing to do in the face of a potential no-deal, as they can manage the UK market from their UK business.

Can the Irish food industry be more competitive?

Business can always be more competitive. Many Irish food companies have employed LEAN principles in their business and are really focussed on competitiveness. Since the Brexit vote, we’ve had a lot more companies come to us looking to do a LEAN transformation change across the business. So I think there’s always fat that can be taken out.

What is the spend on R&D in the food industry?

Overall R&D spend by food companies is 0.67% of turnover, which is unacceptably low when compared to the R&D intensity of international competitors.

We have the evidence to show that R&D active companies generate higher sales and exports, but most importantly they are more resilient.

Why is R&D spending so low?

I think it’s a mindset problem. Companies need to view innovation and new product development (NPD) as an investment for the future and not as a cost. Whether Brexit happens or not the UK market will still demand new products. EI has very generous supports for R&D, such as innovation vouchers for smaller companies right up to getting involved in bigger Horizon 2020 projects.

We also launched our Agile Innovation fund in 2017 to help companies react faster to a customer need or new consumer trend.