What does field vegetable production look like in Ireland? In Ireland, the field vegetable sector is worth almost 16% of horticulture output, valued at €77.9 million.
Lorcan Bourke, fresh produce and potato manager for Bord Bia, explains more about the sector, which is composed of many different crop types with many common challenges.
Production
The main business of fresh vegetable production is focused around large-scale grading and packing of vegetables for supermarkets and foodservice channels. While there is no significant vegetable processing sector in Ireland, there is a distinct separate market for fresh prepared vegetables sold into foodservice.
The total production area for field vegetables in 2019 was circa 4,369ha. There are around 135 field scale commercial vegetable growers, with the low numbers reflecting a significant consolidation within the sector in the past two decades.
on 09 Dec 2020 Specialist growers and mechanisation the future of vegetable production Lorcan Bourke, fresh produce and potato manager for Bord Bia, analyses a sector made up of different crop types but common challenges.
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\ Philip Doyle
Next year is the UN International Year of Fruit and Vegetables, which aims to raise awareness of the nutritional and health benefits of eating these foods. In 2019, edible crops accounted for almost €400m of the total €467m farmgate value of horticultural crops. The field vegetable sector was worth almost 16% of the horticulture output, valued at €77.9m. The huge plus for this sector is that it produces a healthy product with growing demand and a positive image.