Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
2116. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of animal feed imported into Ireland in each of the past five years; the projected level of imports in 2022 and 2023; the projected carbon emissions that result from these imports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40963/22]
View answerIreland, due to our high proportion of livestock production and limited tillage area, is very dependent on feed imports relative to other EU Member States.
The following table details imports of feed materials for the period 2017 to 2021:
|
Year |
Full Year Quantity (Tonnes) |
|
2017 |
3,474,501 |
|
2018 |
5,056,534 |
|
2019 |
4,083,847 |
|
2020 |
4,255,654 |
|
2021 |
4,112,092 |
|
2022 |
n/a |
With regard to projections on future imports of feed, it is anticipated, based on a comparative analysis of Jan-May (latest available for 2022) figures since 2017, that imports of feed materials will be broadly in line with recent years.
Whilst there has been a decline in tillage area since 2012, the area has stabilised in recent years and in 2021 the cereal area increased by 3% or circa 9,000ha.
Tillage area in 2022 has further increased with a number of support measures in place such as the Tillage Incentive scheme and changes in the Protein Aid scheme in place to support this objective of increasing native production. This level of increase will not achieve self-sufficiency in terms of animal feed due to the high protein requirements of our pig and poultry sector, but the extra tonnage of grain will reduce our reliance on imports to some degree.
Carbon emissions estimations for feed imports are difficult to calculate with any accuracy due to the number of variables involved, including the range of different types of feeds imported and also the countries/distance from where feed imports are sourced from.
