31 July 2008 - Report on the Northern Ireland Food and Drinks Processing Sector

The report provides comprehensive information on the values of sales, exports, value added and number of employees for each of the ten constituent subsectors of the food and drinks processing sector in 2005 and 2006. These key statistics are supplemented with fifteen performance indicators for each subsector. Provisional estimates of sales and employment are provided for 2007.

In addition to the report, time-series data covering the period 1989 – 2006 (2007 where available) are published on the DARD website for each of the main size and performance indicators. These will enable users to consider trends in variables of interest.

Some of the report’s key findings include:

• The value of sales of the food and drinks processing sector increased by 2.3% from £2,525million in 2005 to £2,583million in 2006. Provisional estimates suggest that total sales increased to £2,724million in 2007.
• From 1989 to 2003, Northern Ireland had continuously been the most important market for the sector. In 2004, the Great Britain market became more important; this trend continued in 2005 and 2006 with Great Britain accounting for 40% and 41% of sales in these years respectively.
• The food and drinks processing sector contributed more than 2% of Northern Ireland’s total gross value added in 2006. However, it made the largest contribution to the manufacturing sector’s gross value added (13%).
• The food and drinks processing sector is the largest contributor to the sales, external sales and employment of the Northern Ireland manufacturing sector, accounting for 18.9% of total manufacturing sales, 15.8% of manufacturing external sales and 22% of manufacturing employment in 2006.
• The sector made the second largest contribution to Northern Ireland’s total manufacturing export sales, accounting for 13.7% of total manufacturing export sales in 2006.
• Nine of the ten of the food and drinks subsectors traded profitably in 2006; the poultry meat subsector failed to generate a profit.
• Employment in the sector fell slightly (-1.5%) between 2005 and 2006, with approximately 18,442 full-time employee equivalents in the sector in 2006.

Notes to Editors:

1. This statistical press release relates to the annual report “Size and Performance of the Northern Ireland Food and Drinks Processing Sector, Subsector Statistics 2006, with provisional estimates for 2007.”
2. The report and time-series data from 1989 – 2006/2007, may be downloaded free of charge from the DARD website at:
3. If a hard copy of the report is required, it may be obtained at a cost of £6 including postage and packaging, from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Policy and Economics Division, Room 810, Dundonald House, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SB.
4. All media enquiries to DARD Press Office, Tel. 028 9052 4619. Out of office hours, contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440, and your call will be returned.