Mike Neary, Horticulture Department, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

The grocery market in Ireland put in a strong performance for the year ending period March 2017 when it reached a value of €10.26bn which was a growth of 2.6% on the previous year. Volume purchased was also up 1.9%. The key contributing factor to this growth was an increase in the purchasing frequency to 270 store visits per annum.

Similarly the fresh produce category performed well with its value increasing from €1.44bn to €1.5bn which was an increase of 4% on the previous year though volume overall was back slightly. Fruit is the largest segment of this category making up 49% of the value, vegetables 38% and potatoes 13% of the value. The purchase frequency of fresh produce is 176 times per annum and fresh produce purchases now make up 15.7% of the value of all grocery purchases in store.

For further information on the retail fresh produce market contact info@bordbia.ie