Money needed on the table

Indications that Enterprise Ireland will fund new milk-processing plants are encouraging for the food industry.

Money has been missing from the ambitious Food Harvest 2020 plan to increase exports by 3.5bn.

Food-and-drink industry leaders recently made their case for putting the sector at the heart of Ireland’s economic-renewal strategy, and they moved the elephant out of the corner, saying Irish agri-food is a high-capital cost sector, with relatively low profit margins.