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From:Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, visited the United Kingdom today in collaboration with Bord Bia for a series of meetings to support and promote the Irish beef sector in its most important export market. The UK remains Ireland’s most important market for agri-food produce accounting for exports of €8.1 billion in 2025. Irish beef is our leading agri-food export to the UK, increasing by 19% year-on-year to a value €1.7 billion in 2025. Since 2021, Irish beef exports to the UK have increased by 60% by value.

Commenting on his visit, Minister Heydon stated:

“I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit the United Kingdom today to hear first-hand about the current environment for Irish beef in the UK market and the prospects for developing our exports further. In Ireland we produce the best grass-fed beef in the world. This visit gave me an opportunity to meet with some of the main suppliers and key buyers of Irish beef to understand how we can continue to protect and strengthen Ireland’s position with key customers in the UK.”

“My visit underlined our commitment to the UK market and our commitment to seeking to strengthen this relationship.”

The visit to Birmingham had three strands. The Minister met with representatives of key food industry suppliers and processors for a discussion on the current position and prospects for Irish beef in the UK market and to emphasise Ireland’s commitment to servicing the industry with world class product. The Minister met representative organisations to hear about the latest market developments and to discuss the challenges and opportunities in the coming years. In addition, the Minister met with key purchasers of Irish beef including for hotels, restaurants and premium food service, to stress Ireland’s commitment to the market.

Jim O’Toole, CEO of Bord Bia, said:

“The UK is Ireland’s nearest, largest and most valuable market for beef, and protecting our position requires sustained engagement and strong trading relationships. At a time of significant change across the market, it is particularly important that we continue to show up, listen to our customers and partners, and understand the shared opportunities and challenges facing both the Irish and British beef sectors. Minister Heydon’s visit reinforces Ireland’s long-term commitment to the market and to supplying customers with high-quality, grass-fed Irish beef.”

Notes to EditorThe UK ranked first among destinations for Irish agri-food exports in 2025, with exports amounting to €8.1bn; equivalent to 39% of Irish agri-food exports by value and amounting to 4.8m tonnes. In value terms, this represents an increase of 11% (+€803m) on 2024 (€7.3bn in 2024). In volume terms, this marked an increase of 4% or +180,808 tonnes from 2024 (4.7m tonnes). In 2015, exports to the UK were valued at €5.3bn, showing an increase of 53% (+€2.8bn) in the decade, while volume increased by 29% from 3.7m tonnes (+1.1m tonnes).

In 2025, beef was largest segment of Irish agri-food export value to the UK at €1.7 bn (193,803 tonnes). Within this, fresh/chilled boneless beef was the largest product line by value, at €1bn (105,142 tonnes). Frozen boneless beef was the second largest product line at €376m (46,751 tonnes).