asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food the main food items imported into this country and the value of same for the year ending 31 March, 1988; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Food Imports.
45.
Details of food imports for the year 1987 were given in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 4 dated 25 May 1988. The tariff headings for some food products have been reclassified and comparable figures for food imports in January-March 1988 are not available.
Various reports on import substitution in the food sector concluded that much of the food imported cannot be produced here for climatic and other reasons. Approximately 20 per cent of food imports could be replaced by home-produced food and the Government's strategy for the development of the food industry places special emphasis on achieving this target. In the horticultural sector for example, measures have been taken to improve the structure of the industry to enable Irish vegetables to compete more effectively with imported produce. This has already resulted in a decline in imports of fresh vegetables of the type grown here. In particular, potato imports dropped by nearly 40 per cent last year and while there has been some increase in imports of fruit, the bulk of these were of non-competing tropical and mediterranean produce.