Appetite for growth drives Irish agrifood firms’ success

Wealth creation is a subject that stirs up emotive debate in many quarters. If you are for it, some will condemn your mad capitalistic instincts. 

If against it, the category marked “looney sandal-wearing muppet” beckons. For me, wealth creation is a dynamic we should encourage because one of its end products is investment, and investment triggers employment.

A perusal of wealth creation in the Irish agrifood industry over the past 25 years is a worthwhile exercise. In 1990, agrifood companies on the Irish stockmarket were valued at just over €700m. Last week, those companies, and others that were created by them, were worth€23bn. That represents a 33-fold increase in the value of a broad group of Irish-led food companies that have built tremendous businesses on global markets.