Amenity market worth €16m per week

A LUCRATIVE ‘growing’ alternative farm enterprise lurks in the rapidly expanding amenity market in Ireland, which is experiencing phenomenal growth, a Bord Bia study has revealed.

The study which covered the main range of amenity products, grown in this country or imported — to meet the demand — found that over a four year period the value of the market in Ireland had increased by 71% and for the 2005/06 year was worth an average of more than €16m per week for the year and now offers a basket of opportunities for the farmer interested in developing an alternative enterprise in growing supplies for the amenity market.

The biggest growth category was garden products, which increased by 122% over the four years and is now worth in excess of €440m per annum.