A report prepared by consultants at Ernst & Young for the NI Food and Drink Association (NIFDA) has highlighted the importance of the agri-food industry to the economy in NI.
The work shows that the industry generated £7.3bn in gross value added in 2024, which equates to £3,791 per head of population.
Of the £7.3bn, a total of £2.8bn was generated directly by production and processing activities, with a further £2.4bn coming indirectly via the likes of transport, utilities and retail.
The remaining £2.1bn was generated through induced effects, as wages earned within the sector and the wider food supply chain were spent within the NI economy.
The food and drink industry directly supports 59,563 jobs in NI and in total, supports 108,970 jobs across the wider economy.
The report also highlights the importance of NI to UK food security. Despite having only 3% of the UK population, NI produces 8% of UK food output by volume and over 10% by value.
However, this contribution is concentrated in certain commodities including eggs, milk, beef and poultry, where NI consistently supplies between 17% and 20% of total UK production, notes the report.
This contribution is important as the UK has lower self-sufficiency than most other developed nations. The reports references work done by experts at Savills, which places the UK at around 62% self-sufficiency, despite having the capacity to produce significantly more local food.
“This increases exposure to external shocks, trade friction and global price volatility relative to peers that meet a larger share of demand domestically,” notes the report.
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