The Irish Exporters Association has criticised the Government for failing to make any allocation for port development in the new National Development Plan (NDP).

President Joe Lynch described it as "an extraordinary omission" and said the NDP will have to be revisited.

Speaking at the launch of the association's "North Atlantic Trade and Transport Study" yesterday in Belfast, Mr Lynch said sea ports were vital arteries for international trade and handled 90 per cent of trade North and South. "Continuous investment in our seaports is essential to ensure world-class capacity and capability in rapidly evolving maritime market," he said.

The study noted that Ireland had no direct sea route to North America, despite that region being the single biggest export market outside the EU, accounting for 19 per cent of exports. Irish exporters must ship first to British or European ports which results in both additional costs and time delays.

Mr Lynch said the transhipment cycle is getting progressively longer as European ports struggle to handle the Asian trade explosion and US-driven security standards.

"Irish exporters are increasingly under threat from competitors with a faster, shorter supply line. Direct shipping to North America is rapidly becoming an essential requirement if we are to hold on to the US market," he added.

A major shipping line using roll-on, roll-off ships has expressed an interest in providing a direct link to North America from Belfast port. In the absence of direct shipping the report highlights Liverpool as the fastest transhipment port from Ireland, taking a full seven days less than shipment from Rotterdam. But it also calls for improvements on the feeder ship services to UK and European ports.