skip to main content

61% of agribusinesses face staffing challenge - report

At the launch of ifac's Food and Agribusiness Report are Ronan Greaney, The Dough Bros in Galway, David Leydon, Head of Food and Agribusiness at ifac; Stephanie Walsh, food business consultant with ifac and Eugene Greaney, The Dough Bros
At the launch of ifac's Food and Agribusiness Report are Ronan Greaney, The Dough Bros in Galway, David Leydon, Head of Food and Agribusiness at ifac; Stephanie Walsh, food business consultant with ifac and Eugene Greaney, The Dough Bros

A survey of leaders of 75 food and agribusinesses on the island of Ireland has found businesses are being affected by high costs, staff recruitment challenges and general price inflation.

The findings are contained in the Food and Agribusiness Report 2023 published by ifac, the specialist services and accounting firm to the agri and food sectors.

Of those surveyed, 61% of leaders say their firms are finding it difficult to recruit the right people, although 55% still intend to increase the size of their workforce, and just under half see exporting to new markets as their biggest opportunity for business growth.

Three quarters of firms reported an increase in costs this year, and 35% said that they experienced short or medium-term cash flow issues.

33% said they experienced problems with late payments from customers. In relation to remuneration, 38% cite salary increases as a major threat to their businesses.

Overall however, 90% say they have maintained or increased their turnover in the past 12 months.

Nearly 90% of firms are also taking climate change actions such as using sustainable packaging, investing in solar energy or renewable energy and managing waste and by-products.

All the findings are based on views collected from business leaders in July and August this year.

Commenting on the findings David Leydon, head of Food and Agribusiness at ifac, said the findings show it remains tough and complex to operate businesses in the sector.

"SMEs...are now dealing with a myriad of demands and external factors from recruitment challenges and rising interest rates, to continued cost increases and, in some cases, cashflow issues.

"Yet for some, their revenues are being maintained or are growing.

"The sector is also taking action on climate change and it's clear that export has been identified as the biggest growth opportunity.

"With a 22% increase in Irish exports in 2022, nearly half of the companies surveyed see exporting to new markets as their route to business growth.

"This is of critical importance for Irish agribusinesses who up to now have focused on selling services or products to the Irish dairy sector.

"They need to look much further afield to a bigger international market, because of the slowdown in growth across Irish dairying compared to past years," said Mr Leydon.