Horticulture

Christmas trees

Christmas trees are a significant niche crop in Ireland, with an annual market value of around €15m. Bord Bia estimate that around 100 growers annually harvest 700,000 trees for sale. About 300,000 are exported, mainly to Britain and France. Christmas trees are grown mainly in counties Wicklow, Wexford and Carlow but also in Kerry, Tipperary, Roscommon and Dublin. The most popular varieties grown are the Nordmann fir (70%) and the Noble fir (20%), which suit our soil types. Their ability to retain their needles makes them popular with customers. On average it takes 7 – 10 years for a Christmas tree to grow to a minimum height of 2 metres.

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Christmas trees
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Christmas trees

Christmas trees are a significant niche crop in Ireland, with an annual market value of around €15m. Bord Bia estimate that around 100 growers annually harvest 700,000 trees for sale. About 300,000 are exported, mainly to Britain and France. Christmas trees are grown mainly in counties Wicklow, Wexford and Carlow but also in Kerry, Tipperary, Roscommon and Dublin. The most popular varieties grown are the Nordmann fir (70%) and the Noble fir (20%), which suit our soil types. Their ability to retain their needles makes them popular with customers. On average it takes 7 – 10 years for a Christmas tree to grow to a minimum height of 2 metres.

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

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Strawberries

Wexford is the county most closely associated with strawberry production. Bord Bia estimate that it accounted for almost 100 of the 224 hectares of the crop grown in Ireland in 2008. The Irish strawberry industry began around 1930 and in 1939, when war cut off imports, a production region began around Bree, Clonroche and Adamstown in Co Wexford. According to Teagasc records, the county had just three hectares of the crop in 1940, but this had jumped to 336 hectares by 1960. Crops were grown in small field plots and employed hundreds of young people. Chivers jams opened a depot in Enniscorthy, while Bunclody co-op and Irish Sugar were also involved. In the late 1990’s the crop moved from the fields to indoors, with fresh berries now available for six to eight months rather than just weeks.

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Strawberries
Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

Strawberries

Wexford is the county most closely associated with strawberry production. Bord Bia estimate that it accounted for almost 100 of the 224 hectares of the crop grown in Ireland in 2008. The Irish strawberry industry began around 1930 and in 1939, when war cut off imports, a production region began around Bree, Clonroche and Adamstown in Co Wexford. According to Teagasc records, the county had just three hectares of the crop in 1940, but this had jumped to 336 hectares by 1960. Crops were grown in small field plots and employed hundreds of young people. Chivers jams opened a depot in Enniscorthy, while Bunclody co-op and Irish Sugar were also involved. In the late 1990’s the crop moved from the fields to indoors, with fresh berries now available for six to eight months rather than just weeks.

Copyright Irish Farmers Journal

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The Irish horticultural industry is an important economic sector in Ireland; the sector includes vegetables, fruits, ornamentals, flower bulbs, trees, mushrooms and protected crops. Horticulture provided an estimated farmgate value of €477m in 2019 in Ireland (Bord Bia, 2020).

However, the sector has seen a continual reduction in the number of produce growers over the past two decades. For example, the number of Field Vegetable growers decreased from 377 in 1999 to 165 in 2014 based on the most recent National Field Vegetable Census. This represents a decline of 56% in the number of commercial growers over this period. In total, across the industry an estimated 1,000 growers are currently engaged in commercial production (Bord Bia, 2020).

The majority of horticulture output nationally is consumed in Ireland. Just two sectors have a significant export trade. Mushroom exports account for 42% of edible horticulture exports from Ireland, with an estimated export value in 2019 of €104m. The second export sector is Amenity Horticulture (i.e. Hardy Nursery Stock, Bulbs & Cut Flowers, Cut Foliage and Christmas Trees). This sector created a total farmgate value of €18.5m in 2019 (Bord Bia, 2020)

Fruit crops

A small number of growers (<100) are engaged in strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant production. Bord Bia estimate that strawberries account for over 90% of Irish berry production. The primary producing counties for such crops are located in the south-east and east of the contry e.g. Wexford, Dublin and Meath. There are also around 40 growers that specialise in apple growing.