The Small Firms Association (SFA), a representative body for small to medium sized businesses in Ireland, has expressed its concerns that the recent Brexit may lead to cheaper imported brands flooding the market in the run up to Christmas.
The SFA, together with another Irish food representative body, Love Irish Food, called on consumers to buy local during the festive season, in order to secure jobs in the sector.
“The UK is the largest export market for the Irish food industry, with 41% of our food and drinks exports destined for our neighbouring country," said Patricia Callan, Director, SFA. "The most immediate concern is the currency value – if Sterling settles around £0.90, this would translate to losses of over €700 million in food exports and could cost 7,500 jobs.
"As consumers, we all have a role to play in avoiding the worst case scenario by making informed decisions about the products we pick, supporting local businesses wherever possible. This simple step is essential to ensuring that our local food companies survive and are enabled to compete successfully both nationally and internationally.”
The SFA said that some 230,000 jobs are linked to food and drink manufacturing in Ireland, 52,000 of which are direct jobs in the sector.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
