Fruit and vegetable exports from the island of Ireland fell by 10 per cent to €218 million last year, the cross-Border Horticultural Development Report, published yesterday, has shown.
The report, which was funded by the International Fund for Ireland, also showed a marked decline in cross-Border trade with a 50 per cent drop in trade to the North and a 17 per cent drop the other direction.
"In fact total North/South trade in the edible horticulture sector fell from € 48 million in 2003 to € 34 million in 2004," John Whelan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, told the launch of the survey in Belfast last night.
"This decline in exports is matched by a decline in overall output from the sector, particularly in the potato and mushroom sectors which accounted for 60 per cent of the total.
"However the consumer demand pattern in general, as shown by this study, continues to be very strong both North and South of the country where the food service sector is now valued at €3.2 billion at retail level, primarily based on imported fruit and vegetables," Mr Whelan added.
Michael Bell, executive director of the Northern Ireland Food and Drinks Association, said the study was based on the potential to rebuild some of the traditional horticulture sectors such as potatoes from Donegal and apples from Armagh.
This could be done, he said, by using the cross-Border cluster model successfully exploited for the past two decades by the Monaghan Mushrooms company.
He and Mr Whelan said that despite the decline in exports, the study had identified growth opportunities for existing horticultural enterprises.
These included niche areas such as organic herbs, low-disease seed potatoes, farmers' markets and amenity horticultural products such as cut flowers, which was one of the fastest-growing markets and was now worth €70 million to the 32 counties.
The report showed that despite the potential growth in the organic sector, there had only been a 4 per cent increase in the number of approved growers since 2000.
Current producers were not meeting the volume requirement of wholesale retailers and at present 70 per cent of organic fruit and vegetables had to be imported.