Ireland imported 72,000 tonnes of potatoes last year as total imports of goods cost approximately €79 billion.
These figures come from the Central Statistics Office which also revealed that Ireland exported €123 billion worth of goods in 2017.
In total, Ireland exported €12.3 billion and imported €7.7 billion worth of food and drinks during the year.
Trade In Goods
In addition to potatoes, Ireland imported 21,000 tonnes of coffee, 280 million litres of sugared non-alcoholic drinks, 70 million litres of mineral water and 83 million litres of wine.
The country’s exports included 229,000 tonnes of cheese, 210,000 tonnes of butter, 165,000 tonnes of infant formula, 436 million litres of beer and 30 million litres of whiskey.
Breaking it down, figures show that Ireland imported 20kg of bananas, 13kg of apples, 10kg of onions and 7kg of carrots for every person in Ireland.
The US saw a €17 billion increase in exports compared to the previous year, while the UK remained our largest import partner at €18.8 billion.
The UK was also our largest partner for both exports, €4.6 billion, and imports, €3.7 billion, of food and drinks.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
