DESPITE THE downturn in the economy, the Department of Agriculture’s public spend this year would be €3.3 billion, which included €1.4 billion in EU transfers, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith said yesterday.
He was announcing the publication on its website of the Annual Review and Outlook for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 2008/2009 which had been launched earlier this year in Portlaoise, Co Laois. “The statistics described in the report provide a timely and accurate indication of the importance of the agri-food sector to our economy, with the sector accounting for 6.6 per cent of GDP, 8.5 per cent of employment and €8.1 billion in exports.”
Mr Smith said the indigenous strengths and nature of the sector was evident from the report, which showed Irish raw materials and services accounted for a significantly higher proportion of expenditure within the food and drink sector (70 per cent) than for the manufacturing sectors as a whole. Moreover, 44 per cent of food and drinks companies were located in the BMW regions compared with 30 per cent of other manufacturing industries.
He said the report also showed that the wider “biosector” contributed one-third of the net flow of funds into the economy generated by manufacturing exports.
The report is available in English and Irish on the department’s website at http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/publications/2009/