Ireland imports 83% of its fruit and vegetables

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Ireland is importing the food its people most want to eat. More than four in five Irish adults, 81%, say they would like to eat more fruit, vegetables and legumes. Around 83% of it arrives from abroad….

The first figure comes from a national survey published by the Vegan Society of Ireland. The second comes from the Climate Change Advisory Council, in its Annual Review published last week.

The Council also found that fewer than 70 commercial vegetable growers are left in Ireland. More than 600 were trading in the 1990s.

It warned that this leaves Irish food supply exposed to extreme weather and crop failures overseas, and recommended that the Department of Agriculture review what Irish horticulture could produce.

Horticulture belongs on the list

The Council advised farmers to prepare for severe swings between heavy rainfall, drought and heat. Chairperson Alex White named forestry, carbon farming and renewable energy as diversification options.

The Vegan Society of Ireland is asking that horticulture be named alongside them. Fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, grains, legumes, nuts and seeds are all grown commercially in Ireland today, far below what the domestic market absorbs.

The Society has written to the Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, asking that the review examine what a farmer would need to convert land to fruit, vegetable or legume production.

The same report called for national guidelines on sustainable diets, noting that European diets are on average too low in healthy plant-based foods.

What the survey found

The national survey from the Vegan Society of Ireland found that more than half of adults, 51%, want Ireland to make it a political priority to diversify agriculture and incentivise plant-based production.

Almost eight in ten adults (78%) already eat a lot or a moderate amount of these foods.
Almost two in three (62%) want healthy, sustainable diets made a national political priority.
More than half (52%) want Ireland to become a global leader in plant-based food production.
Cost is the biggest barrier, named by almost one in three (32%). Not knowing how to cook these foods follows at 28%, and poor availability in supermarkets at 20%, rising to 27% among under-35s.
Opinions Market Research surveyed 1,010 adults in May 2026. The sample is nationally representative of the Republic of Ireland and the margin of error is plus or minus 3.1%.

The trend behind the numbers

Ireland’s capacity to grow its own fruit and vegetables has fallen sharply over three decades while costs have climbed.

Commercial growers have fallen from more than 600 in the 1990s to fewer than 70 today, and the number of new entrants is falling.
Input costs have risen by over 70% in six years.
Agriculture accounted for 37.0% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2025. Sector emissions fell 0.2% last year and sit 4.7% below the 2018 baseline, against a 10% target for 2025.

The figures come from the Council’s Annual Review, which names tillage and horticulture as the most carbon-efficient sectors of Irish agriculture.

Irish diets have moved the other way. Research for the Society by Amárach in November 2025 found that 14% of adults describe themselves as flexitarian and 10% do not eat meat at all.

The affordability divide

Among adults who say they are comfortable financially, 83% eat a lot or a moderate amount of fruit, vegetables and legumes. Among those who are not comfortable, the figure falls to 73%.

Speaking to Wexford Weekly, Vegan Society of Ireland Chairperson James O’Donovan said:

“The public has already made its decision. Four in five people want more fruit, vegetables and legumes on their plate. Most of it is arriving here on a lorry or a plane. There is a gap in the Irish market here, not a lifestyle debate. Farmers are being told to prepare for a harsher climate and to consider diversifying. Forestry, carbon farming and renewable energy have been named as the options. We are asking that horticulture be named too. Just over half the public backs it.“Almost a third of people told us cost is what stops them. Whole plant foods are the cheapest way to eat well. Policymakers and retailers can make the healthy choice the easy choice,” he told Wexford Weekly.