In Ireland, up to 80% of the animal feed requirement for ruminants is supplied from grass, hay and silage, complemented where appropriate, by compound feeds. In the case of pigs and poultry, virtually all nutrition is derived from compound feeds. In 2017 Ireland imported approximately 3.47 million tonnes of animal feed materials. In addition, approximately 2.1 million tonnes of home-grown cereals is used in the production of animal feed , bringing the total usage of feed materials to about 5.6 million tonnes annually. With our grass based livestock production system, with limited tillage area, Ireland is especially dependent on feed imports relative to other EU Member States.
Almost 1.7 million tonnes of soya and maize genetically modified (GM) products were imported into Ireland for inclusion in animal feeds in 2017, constituting approximately 50% of total feed imports. The main commodities imported are maize and maize by-products, soyabean meal and soya hulls and rapeseed meal. Up to 90% of the soyabean and maize products are imported from Argentina, Brazil and the USA. Significant quantities of non-GM maize and oilseed rape meal are imported from continental Europe, including the Ukraine.
Due to our high proportion of livestock production compared to tillage area, Ireland is especially dependent on feed imports relative to other EU Member States. Approximately two thirds of the feed materials marketed here are imported, compared to 37% in the UK, 27% in France, and 26% in Germany. The pig, poultry and dairy sectors are particularly dependent on imports of GM soybean and GM maize by-products as they are essential ingredients in the formulation of these feed rations.
The EU is only 35% self-sufficient in high-protein supplement supplies for animal feed. Soybean is the most favoured vegetable protein because of its nutritional efficacy and competitive cost. A significant quantity of soybean and maize from North and South America is essential therefore to satisfy the protein requirements in animal nutrition within the EU.
Ireland supports increased domestic production of protein crops. The national coupled protein support payment is evidence of that. Production of these crops in Ireland has been traditionally low. However, since the introduction of the coupled protein payment in 2015, the area of protein crops, mainly beans, has increased from an average of 4,000 ha to over 13,000 ha. The production of pulse crops such as peas and beans also contribute several environmental benefits by fixing nitrogen and adding to diversity in crop rotations.
Supporting the tillage sector through encouraging the production of protein crops is an important strategic objective of this Department. It is also important however, given our dependence on imported protein for animal nutrition, that access to imports of competitively priced protein from existing sources is maintained.
