Irish beef imports: Volumes and origins over past 10 years
A table detailing Irish beef import volumes and origins over the past decade has been made available by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon.
Minister Heydon was responding to a question from Aontú TD Paul Lawless, seeking a list of all countries from which Ireland imported beef in the past decade.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) data provided showed that 40,977t of beef was imported to Ireland in 2025.
The data shows that 458,995t of beef was exported from Ireland in 2025, accounting for 17% of total agri-food exports and €3.6 billion in value terms.
Minister Heydon said that in 2025, the UK was the largest country of origin by volume of beef imports at 36,948t, or 90% of total beef imports.
Britain accounted for 53% or 19,710t of beef imported from the UK, while Northern Ireland accounted for 47% or 17,238t.
The table below details Irish beef import volumes and origins over the past decade:
| Country | 2016 (Tonnes) | 2017 (Tonnes) | 2018 (Tonnes) | 2019 (Tonnes) | 2020 (Tonnes) | 2021 (Tonnes) | 2022 (Tonnes) | 2023 (Tonnes) | 2024 (Tonnes) | 2025 (Tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 27,497 | 24,404 | 30,691 | 25,765 | 25,065 | 30,322 | 31,193 | 31,203 | 29,050 | 36,948 |
| Spain | 16 | 313 | 493 | 1,117 | 1,649 | 1,584 | 1,414 | 1,527 | 1,372 | 871 |
| Belgium | 65 | 93 | 38 | 174 | 360 | 298 | 318 | 519 | 477 | 598 |
| Netherlands | 873 | 624 | 573 | 1,204 | 896 | 841 | 1,493 | 889 | 499 | 363 |
| Poland | 484 | 620 | 1,311 | 1,023 | 886 | 351 | 716 | 448 | 560 | 290 |
| Germany | 731 | 1,361 | 410 | 175 | 249 | 373 | 289 | 483 | 486 | 287 |
| Lithuania | 202 | 254 | 277 | 287 | 315 | 282 | 256 | 243 | 228 | 232 |
| France | 227 | 139 | 308 | 110 | 26 | 23 | 154 | 507 | 421 | 227 |
| Brazil | 22 | 3 | 11 | 26 | 35 | 36 | 73 | 40 | 97 | 172 |
| Sweden | 100 | 109 | 107 | 124 | 66 | 84 | 173 | 198 | 222 | 172 |
| Italy | 32 | 25 | 36 | 27 | 48 | 42 | 41 | 54 | 387 | 167 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 127 |
| Canada | 25 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 122 |
| China | 50 | 0 | 42 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 126 | 48 | 123 | 75 |
| Unknown (Non-EU) | 262 | 97 | — | 72 | 79 | — | 0 | 0 | 69 | — |
| Denmark | 99 | 59 | 32 | 71 | 159 | 358 | 124 | 192 | 60 | 61 |
| Bulgaria | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | 24 | 30 | 29 | 35 |
| Croatia | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 10 | 28 | 34 | — |
| Austria | 25 | 45 | 52 | — | 0 | — | 16 | 59 | 81 | 28 |
| Qatar | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 26 |
| Estonia | — | — | — | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 17 | — | — |
| United States | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Romania | — | — | 1 | 5 | 4 | — | 5 | 6 | 12 | 10 |
| Morocco | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 |
| United Arab Emirates | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 6 | — | — |
| Ceuta | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 |
| Ireland | 81 | 4 | 0 | — | 11 | — | 23 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
| Unknown (Intra EU) | — | — | — | 4 | 26 | 7 | 6 | 3 | — | — |
| Portugal | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 3 | — | — |
| Slovakia | — | — | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| Luxembourg | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| South Korea | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Czech Republic | — | — | 3 | — | 1 | 19 | 18 | 5 | 0 | — |
| Uruguay | 26 | 0 | — | 0 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 0 | — |
| Hungary | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Norway | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Thailand | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Turkey | — | — | — | — | 61 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Australia | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — |
| Taiwan | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| New Zealand | — | — | 0 | — | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| India | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Iceland | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — |
| Viet Nam | 2 | — | 2 | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Japan | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 4 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
| Ukraine | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | 0 | — | — | — |
| St Pierre and Miquelon | — | 23 | — | — | 12 | 16 | — | — | — | — |
| Russia Federation | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — |
| Finland | — | — | — | 14 | 6 | 0 | 22 | — | — | — |
| Bangladesh | 0 | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Philippines | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Saint Barthélemy | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — |
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Senegal | — | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nicaragua | — | — | — | 391 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Serbia | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nigeria | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Singapore | — | — | 25 | — | — | 26 | — | — | — | — |
| Tunisia | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cyprus | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | 0 | — | — | — |
| Peru | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Africa | — | — | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 52 | — | — |
| Greece | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gabon | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ecuador | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Egypt | — | — | — | — | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Latvia | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grand Total | 30,841 | 28,180 | 34,437 | 30,213 | 29,921 | 35,071 | 36,568 | 36,696 | 34,252 | 40,977 |
Spain was the second-largest country of origin for Irish beef imports by volume at 871t, followed by Belgium at 598t, the Netherlands at 363t and Poland at 290t.
The remaining 1,907t of imported beef represented less than 5% of total beef imported to Ireland by volume.
Minister Heydon added: "For context, in 2025, beef exports from Ireland totalled €3.6 billion, by value, and amounted to 458,995t.
"Last year, Irish beef reached 70 destinations globally with key markets including the UK at €1.7 billion, France at €428 million, the Netherlands at €290 million, Italy at €286 million and Germany at €203 million."
He said that since 2021, beef exports from Ireland "have increased by 50% in nominal value terms, from €2.4 billion to a record €3.6 billion in 2025, an increase of over €1 billion".
"This value growth has occurred despite only a 1% increase in the volume of beef exported during the same period."
According to the minister, this development reflects a key aim of Food Vision 2030, Ireland’s stakeholder-led strategy for the agri-food sector, which he said "prioritises the development of market opportunities for Irish agri-food both at home and abroad, based on value rather than volume".
Minister Heydon went on to say that the outlook remains positive for the Irish beef sector, "with demand for animal protein on international markets increasing with population, urbanisation and affluence".
"The sector's export-orientation and reputation for high-quality produce ensures that it is well placed to play a role in meeting this demand," he said.
