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Minister Heydon highlights opportunities for organic tillage

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, highlighted this morning the opportunities for growth in the organic tillage sector at the Organic Strategy Forum in Flahavan’s, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford.

Minister Heydon said:

“The organic tillage sector is a real success story for Irish farming families. There is strong demand for organic oats, led by the UK market, with growing interest from international markets, including East Asia. Over the last number of years, Government has been providing strong support through the Organic Farming Scheme and Organic Processing Investment Grant, as well as strategic promotion from Bord Bia. Flahavan’s is a perfect example of a family run company that has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to sustainability, organic production, and employment in rural Ireland by adding value to oats to the point where it is currently the largest organic oat brand in the UK. This completely aligns with our aspirations for sustainable agriculture as set out in FoodVision 2030.”

The Organic Strategy Forum brings together 23 organisations spanning the supply chain from farm through to market. The forum offers a platform to identify and agree critical actions needed to promote growth and identify opportunities within the sector. In September 2024, a new National Organic Strategy for 2024-2030 was launched. This was developed by the Forum under the leadership of its Chair, Pádraig Brennan, and sets out ambitious targets for the sector.

Emphasising the importance of collaborative action to build a robust and resilient organic sector, Mr Brennan said:

“Ireland's organic sector has made significant progress through greater investment and increased co-ordination of efforts. Collaboration is key to maintaining momentum in the sector. The Strategy Forum provides the platform for open dialogue, strategic alignment, and solutions-oriented thinking. We're delighted to meet in Flahavan's today, which provides a great example of how to grow the organic market.”

Annie Flahavan, Financial Controller of Flahavan’s, added:

“Flahavan’s are proud to be Ireland’s oldest privately owned family food business, spanning 240 years and now in our 7th generation. Organic forms a large part of our business and we currently hold the position of number one selling organic oats brand in the UK. The demand for organic oat products is growing at a significant pace, and there are challenges in supply matching that demand.”

Minister Heydon concluded by saying:

“I would like to thank the Forum members, including Flahavan’s, for their continued support of the sector. We have just had an excellent spring for sowing and hopefully we will see another year of growth in the organic sector.”

Notes

National Organic Strategy ambition to 2030

  • to increase wholesale organic food value from €200 million in 2024 to €750 million by 2030
  • to more than double tillage area by 2030, with oats and combi-crops (protein and cereal) offering major opportunities. A department organic feed survey in 2024 estimated a need for 50,000 tonnes of livestock feed (concentrates and straights) annually. Approximately 30,000 tonnes of this will be imported. A new survey is currently ongoing, and results will be available shortly

The current market outlook for the organic food and drink sector in Europe and Ireland is positive, following a difficult trading period in 2022 due to the cost-of-living crises. According to independent data, in 2023 a number of high potential organic export markets returned to sales growth such as:

  • Germany (+5% organic sales, market worth €16 billion)
  • Belgium (+20% organic sales, market worth €1.1 billion)
  • UK (+2% organic sales, market worth £3.2 billion)
  • Netherlands (+50% organic sales growth since 2019, market worth €1.4 billion)

In 2023, the last full year of data available, the European retail market for organic food was valued at €55 billion with increasing import demand across cereals, meat, dairy, and seafood. Closer to home, the value of retail sales in Ireland increased by 5.3% in 2024, driven by more shoppers buying organic food in higher frequency and more volumes per trip. This a very positive development for the category.

These trends underline the potential for Irish organic food to reduce import dependency and increase exports.

Key info about Flahavan's

  • founded in 1785
  • headquarters: Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford
  • employees: approx. 100
  • annual turnover: 2021 - approx. €25 million

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