It still accounts for a very small share of the market but it is growing fast. It also offers high returns. Ireland should be ideally placed to profit from this trend. The country is still environmentally well positioned. Existing farming practices, especially the reliance on grass-based production, are also much easier to adapt to organic practices than the more intensive systems elsewhere in Europe.
Animal welfare is another area with great potential.
I have remarked on a number of occasions that no other issue attracts more correspondence in my area of responsibility. Compliance with higher animal welfare standards is generally presented as a cost. But it can also be an opportunity. This is the message I am getting from large retailers who, in response to their customers demands, are increasingly insistent on reassurance from suppliers that their produce has been produced in accordance with acceptable standards. Again, Ireland can profit from its less intensive systems to take advantage of this trend.