Macra has called for urgent measures to support Ireland’s horticulture sector as the number of commercial vegetable growers continues to decline.
The organisation highlighted findings in the Climate Change Advisory Council’s 2026 Annual Review which indicate that approximately 83% of fruit and vegetables consumed in Ireland are imported.
Macra said fewer than 70 commercial vegetable growers now remain on the island, compared with more than 600 during the 1990s.
The organisation also pointed to rising costs, saying horticultural input costs increased by 3.9% over the past year, while fruit production costs rose by 7.5% and vegetable production costs by 4.7%.
Macra President Josephine O’Neill said Ireland needed to make domestic food production a viable career for younger farmers.
The CCAC report identified low prices, retail pressures, high start-up costs, labour shortages and international competition among the pressures facing growers.
