The Chief Executive of Marks and Spencers, speaking at an event in Northern Ireland in 2025 stated that “Northern Ireland, with 3% of the UK population produced 25% of UK food”. While M&S have one of the strongest commitments to British farming amongst all of the UK supermarket chains his statement masks frailities in Northern Ireland farming which will have significant impact in the coming years.
Northern Ireland doesn’t produce 25% of UK food, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs publish agricultural production by sector on an annual basis.
Breakdown by major categories and NI share of UK output (using 2023 UK output figures)
| Category | NI Output (£m) | % of NI Total | Estimated UK Output (£m) | NI as % of UK Output |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy (milk) | 892 | 31.1% | ~5,983 (UK dairy output) | ≈ 14.9% |
| Cattle (beef & other) | 568 | 19.8% | ~3,908 (UK beef) | ≈ 14.5% |
| Sheep & wool | 109 | 3.8% | ~1,582 (UK mutton/lamb) | ≈ 6.9% |
| Pigs | 297 | 10.4% | ~1,838 (UK pigmeat) | ≈ 16.2% |
| Poultry & eggs | 603 | 21.0% | ~4,545 (UK poultry & eggs) | ≈ 13.3% |
| Cereals & other crops | 55 | 1.9% | ~6,399 (UK crop output) | ≈ 0.9% |
| Potatoes | 31 | 1.1% | ~1,005 (UK potatoes) | ≈ 3.0% |
| Horticulture | 70 | 2.4% | ~4,586 (UK horticulture) | ≈ 1.5% |
| Others (misc./other agri-goods) | 243 | 8.5% | ~4,873 | ≈ 5.0% |
| Total | 2,870 | 100% | ~34,720 | ≈ 8.3% |
In no category does NI agricultural output reach 25% of the UK production and while production of beef, dairy, pigs and chicken/eggs are significant none of these sectors individually reach that threshold.
A figure often mentioned is that Northern Ireland produces enough food to feed 10 million people. This is also an unhelpful generalisation.
Technically Northern Ireland does provide enough animal protein to meet the dietary requirements of 10 million people on a balanced diet, but that protein provides only 12% of the daily calories required. Northern Ireland could provide the calorie intake needed for 6-8 million people on current production but most of that is from animal and dairy fats, an extremely unhealthy dietary option.
While Northern Ireland does not produce 25% of the UK food output the actual production levels for beef, dairy, pigs and chicken/eggs are impressive in their own right. Even more so when considering that the 3% of population mentioned by the M&S Chief Executive has little or no involvement in agriculture and production is down to the efforts of a much smaller cohort of individual farmers.
The spin which has become a part of campaigning for support for the agricultural sector is to be expected in an era where sound bites set the tone of debates, but the distortion it leads to masks many of the most challenging issues.
Northern Ireland’s agricultural output is heavily dependent on grass production, a single point in the supply chain susceptible to the changing weather patterns arising from climate change. Ignoring that reality, or going so far as to deny climate change, helps no-one, certainly farmers this generation or next who will have to deal with the consequences.
Northern Ireland produces a significant proportion of the nations beef, dairy, pigs and poultry, but that means that it also produces a significant proportion of the animal waste produced in the UK. With only 6% of the UK land mass our ability to safely dispose of that waste has been insufficient in the past, meeting that challenge cannot be ignored, mitigating the risks that involves is in everyone’s interest.
For individual farmers the risks are many and the margins are small, when Governments set out to rebalance trade arrangements with other countries the consequences at an individual level can seem small to policy makers but have major personal impacts for that individual. The current Australia Trade Deal will open our markets to Australian beef in a controlled way at first but ultimately on a free trade basis. The financial impact on our beef production is expected to reduce sale prices by 3%-7%, a small sum if you’re a Government economist seeking gains elsewhere but a devastating sum if you’re a farmer relying on that margin to make a profit.
The future will not be easy but it can be better managed with rational debate on how we move forward with facts and science as the foundation.
Cicero's Voice 