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Irish cheese exports to the UK increased to 37,000t in the first quarter this year. It marked a 39% increase compared with the same period last year, according to Bord Bia’s 2019 Brexit Barometer.
Launched on Wednesday, the report said the increase in cheese imports showed evidence of stockpiling to manage a potential hard Brexit scenario.
Despite many agriculture companies reporting an increase in preparations for a hard Brexit scenario, concerns were also voiced in the report over “warehouse and cold storage capacity and availability in the UK”.
There was an 11% decrease in meat exports to the UK for the first quarter this year and the primary meats sector was the only group of respondents to the Bord Bia survey to say that it did not plan on increasing sales in the UK market.
Concerns over the UK landbridge were also expressed in the report, particularly by the Irish dairy and meat sectors.
However, over 80% of dairy and meat companies said they were looking to expand their business into new markets in response to Brexit.
Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy said that the results showed a strong level of “resilience” within the Irish food sector.
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