asked the Minister for Agriculture the proportion of food consumed in Ireland which is home produced; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Consumption of Home Produced Food.
23.
The statistical material necessary to enable me to answer this question is not readily available. While a certain proportion of the food consumed in Ireland is imported, I should point out that the country is a substantial net food exporter. In 1985, food imports amounted to £994 million compared with exports of £2,200 million. Export earnings from the food sector were further boosted in 1985 by transfers of almost £900 million from the European Community in respect of market support measures etc, bringing total export earnings from the food industry to more than £3,000 million for the first time ever.
A number of reports on import substitution in the food sector concluded that the vast bulk of our food imports cannot be produced here for climatic and other reasons. These reports concluded that only a relatively small proportion of food imports can be replaced by home produced products and that we should concentrate on those areas, such as the vegetable sector, where import substitution appears to be practicable. It is Government policy to replace imports with home produced food and investment projects relating to import substitution are given very high priority by the IDA. My own Department has taken a number of measures, particularly in the horticultural sector, to bring about better organisation and marketing and to enable Irish suppliers to compete more effectively with imported produce.