The Decline of Small Farms in Ireland: A Growing Concern

Introduction

Irish agriculture remains one of the country’s biggest economic success stories. Food, drink, and horticulture exports reached approximately €19 billion in 2025, with Irish dairy and meat products sold across global markets.

But behind those headline export figures, another story is unfolding, one that receives far less attention. Ireland is steadily losing smaller farms and smaller growers, while food retail and food production become increasingly concentrated among fewer and larger players.

And nowhere is that more visible than in the relationship between Irish supermarkets and Irish produce.

Five Retailers Now Control Most of Ireland’s Grocery Market

Ireland’s grocery sector is now dominated by just five supermarket groups:

• Dunnes Stores.
• Tesco.
• SuperValu.
• Lidl.
• Aldi.

According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), these retailers together account for approximately 93% of the Irish grocery market. That level of concentration gives supermarkets enormous influence over:

• Pricing.
• Supplier contracts.
• Production standards.
• And ultimately which farms can remain commercially viable.

For growers, access to supermarket shelves increasingly means meeting the demands of a small number of very powerful buyers.

Ireland Imports Large Volumes of Fruit and Vegetables

Despite Ireland’s strong agricultural output overall, the country remains heavily reliant on imported horticultural produce.

Teagasc estimates Ireland is only around 60% self-sufficient in vegetables. CSO trade data for 2024 shows Ireland imported:

• Over 104,500 tonnes of potatoes.
• Nearly 45,000 tonnes of onions.
• Around 28,800 tonnes of carrots and turnips.
• Approximately 28,000 tonnes of tomatoes.
• More than 21,000 tonnes of cabbage.
• And almost 16,000 tonnes of lettuce.

Ireland also imported more than:

• 133,500 tonnes of prepared potato products, worth approximately €245 million.

At the same time, many Irish growers continue to face:

• Rising energy costs.
• Labour shortages.
• Retailer pricing pressure.
• And increasing production costs.

Even Apples Are Mostly Imported

One of the clearest examples of Ireland’s reliance on imports is apples. According to Teagasc, more than 90% of apples sold on the Irish market are imported. CSO figures show Ireland imported approximately 56,000 tonnes of apples in 2024 from countries including:

• France.
• Germany.
• Italy.
• Poland.
• New Zealand.
• Chile.
• And South Africa.

This is despite Ireland having a climate capable of supporting commercial apple production.

A Small Number of Growers Now Supply Much of the Market

The number of commercial growers in Ireland has narrowed significantly over time. Teagasc has previously estimated there are around 200 commercial field vegetable growers nationally, while more recent evidence presented to the Oireachtas has suggested the number may now be closer to 60 large-scale commercial growers.

Teagasc also found that:

• The largest 50 growers account for approximately 75% of Ireland’s field.
• Vegetable production area.

In practical terms, a relatively small number of producers now supply a substantial proportion of vegetables entering Irish supermarkets. That concentration improves efficiency and consistency of supply, but it also increases dependence on fewer producers.

Entire Sectors Have Become Highly Concentrated

The mushroom industry is one example. Ireland exported approximately 57,500 tonnes of mushrooms in 2024 which were worth around €174 million.The sector remains internationally competitive and export-focused, particularly into the UK market.

But over time, production has become concentrated into fewer, larger, highly specialised operations. A similar trend is visible across multiple agricultural sectors:

• Fewer producers,
• Larger farms.
• Higher capital requirements.
• And increased dependence on scale.

Retailers Continue To Expand Their Influence

Supermarkets remain central to Irish food supply chains. Lidl stated that it spent approximately €1.3 billion with 400 Irish suppliers in 2024.
while Tesco Ireland says it purchases around €1.6 billion worth of Irish food and drink annually.

Irish retailers continue to heavily promote Irish sourcing, particularly for:

• Beef.
• Dairy.
• Prepared foods.
• And mushrooms.

However, fresh fruit and vegetables remain significantly dependent on imports, particularly outside domestic growing seasons.

Growers Continue To Warn About Economic Pressure

Irish growers have repeatedly raised concerns about pricing pressure within the retail sector. At Oireachtas agriculture committee hearings, grower representatives argued that fruit and vegetables are frequently used by retailers as highly competitive price-driven products to attract customers.

Growers say that rising costs across:

• Labour.
• Packaging.
• Fertiliser.
• Transport.
• And energy have become increasingly difficult to absorb, particularly for smaller operations.

Recent years have also exposed how vulnerable supply chains can become. During supply disruptions across Europe in 2023, supermarkets across Ireland experienced shortages of:

• Tomatoes.
• Peppers.
• Cucumbers.
• And salad crops following extreme weather events and energy-related production issues affecting European suppliers.

The Number of Farms Continues To Fall

At the same time, the overall number of Irish farms continues to decline. CSO data shows there were 133,174 farms in Ireland in 2023
compared with over 139,000 farms in 2013.

Meanwhile, average farm size has continued to increase while the average age of Irish farmers is now approximately 59.4 years old. That combination points toward ongoing consolidation across the agricultural sector.

What Ireland Risks Losing

The disappearance of smaller farms is not simply an economic issue. Smaller farms and growers often contribute to:

• Local food supply.
• Biodiversity.
• Shorter supply chains.
• Rural employment.
• And regional food production diversity.

As production becomes more concentrated, Ireland risks becoming increasingly dependent on:

• Imported produce.
• Fewer suppliers.
• And longer international supply chains.

That does not mean Irish agriculture is weakening overall. In many sectors, it remains highly successful internationally. But it does mean the structure of Irish food production is changing rapidly.

Conclusion

Irish agriculture is becoming larger, more specialised, and more export-oriented.

At the same time:

• The number of farms is falling.
• Horticultural production is becoming more concentrated.
• And supermarkets are exerting growing influence over how food is produced and sold.

The challenge for Ireland is not whether agriculture should modernise. It already is.

The bigger question is whether modernisation can happen without losing too much diversity, resilience, and domestic production capacity along the way.

Because once smaller growers and smaller farms disappear, rebuilding those systems later may prove far more difficult than expected.

*By Anne Hayden MSc., Founder, The Informed Farmer Consultancy.