The Irish Dairy Board will invest €10.5 million in new facilities in Dusseldorf to support growth of the Kerrygold brand in Germany. The capital expenditure will fund extended storage, packing, state-of-the-art production facilities and new product development at Kerrygold's facility.

Kerrygold, which sells close to 200 million packs of butter in Germany each year, is owned by the dairy board.

Irish Dairy Board chief executive Kevin Lane said Germany has been the most successful export market for the board, with Kerrygold turnover there surpassing €280 million this year.

He said the expansion was good news for Irish dairy farmers who would have a bigger market for their milk.