The value of Irish food and drink exports in 2025 was €19bn, 12% higher than 2024, Bord Bia's Performance and Prospects report for 2025 shows.
An additional €2.2bn of revenue was generated by exports of non-edible byproducts from the agri food and drink industries.
Despite a sharp fall in dairy commodities in the latter part of the year, Irish dairy exports increased by 14% on the previous year to be worth €7.3bn overall. Half of this revenue was generated by butter and cheese exports who between them added an extra €650m to Irish dairy exports and represent half of all dairy exports.
The value of meat and livestock exports passed €5bn for the first time with beef exports accounting for €3.4m of this. This is a 24% increase on the previous year achieved – despite the volume of beef exported being down 5% to 470,000t due to a lower cattle kill. The value of live exports surged in 2025, up 40% to €480m with €390m of this generated by live cattle exports and the 450,000 pigs exported to Northern Ireland adding a further €85m of value.
Sheep meat export values were lower for the third year in a row, down 10% to €360m as the volume exported fell by 15% to 51,000t, the lowest since 2016. Pig meat export values also declined in 2025, down 3% on the previous year as lower prices meant that the 3% increase in export volumes wasn’t enough to offset the drop in value.
Tillage farmers received poor prices in 2025 and the export value of cereals also dropped, down 10% to €80m. The drop in volume of mushrooms exported was offset by higher prices and the sector contributed €155m to Irish food and drink exports.
See this week's Irish Farmers Journal for more.
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