Ruth Doris Ireland’s food export sector is thriving, according to latest figures from Bord Bia. Irish beef exports are worth €2.5bn annually, and dairy, valued at €4bn now accounts for one-third of our food and drink exports.

Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy has predicted 2018 will be a ninth successive year of growth for Irish agri-food exports.

Far too many four and five-star hotels in Ireland are under-performing and proving a disappointment to high-paying guests, according to Georgina Campbell, the woman behind the annual hospitality awards.

Deirdre O’Donovan is development consultant with West Cork Music and event organiser of the inaugural West Cork Chamber Music Fringe Festival which will take place in and around the town of Bantry from tomorrow.

Aiding his elderly mother inspired him to create ProU, a fortified yogurt, Michael Murphy tells Trish Dromey.

Advances in breeding could see Ireland produce an extra million lambs annually, according to a five-year sheepmeat development which Meat Industry Ireland (MII) has presented to Agriculture Minister Michael Creed.

They are both workaholics, have two children each and, spookily, turned vegetarian on the same day even though they were on opposite ends of the planet.

Bloom has been abuzz over the last month preparing to mark its 10th year with the biggest festival yet in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

Some people feared that Bord Bia had taken on too daunting a challenge when it decided to organise a world-class garden show in Dublin.

This week I want to re-visit an old favourite — a wine producer that I suspect is familiar to every wine drinker in the country.

Gary Graham had a dream. The reality is bigger than anyone could have imagined, writes Fiann Ó Núalláin.

Bord Bia have organised a two-day market study visit to London coinciding with the Natural and Organic Products Show in April.

THE inherited love that Irish people have for the humble spud is growing again after a brief cooling off in the 430-year relationship.

A growing number of consumers say price is more important to them than brand names, according to a new Bord Bia study.

Ireland’s great festival of scents, colours, and flavours was officially opened by President Michael D Higgins yesterday.

Employers are to be made responsible for drink and drug testing staff, Cabinet ministers are today set to discuss new measures to address cases where people do not pay water charges and Mourinho agrees a new Chelsea deal. These are some of the latest and most read news stories on irishexaminer.com this morning.

Midnight mass, letters to Santa, swimming off the Forty Foot…

Former Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh has died at the age of 71.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has been urged to do more to deal with the impact of the Russian food ban at home, rather than depend on the EU to sort things out.

Gluten-free food producers are being urged to capitalise on a surge in export sales opportunities, notably in Britain and Spain, according to Bord Bia market analysis.

Viva the goodies

Irish beef is being used as the key meat ingredient at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or culinary competition in Lyon, France, today and tomorrow.

The food sector is set to be one of the engines of growth for the Irish economy with record-breaking sales of €9bn last year and strong prospects in emerging markets in Africa and Asia.

THE man in the uniform said: “Mr Keogh, why don’t you cook your potato? If you cook them, you don’t have to talk to us.”

The Irish Freerange Breeders Association (IFBA) has welcomed ‘freerange’ as a quality mark for pork and bacon — after two years of negotiations.

Four Irish seafood companies have pooled their resources to set up Jade Ireland Seafood Ltd, a joint venture with an office based in Shanghai, China.

THE artisan food producers of Cork and Kerry were out in force at a food forum organised recently in Cork.

Signs of a resurgence in the hospitality sector have been signalled by Georgina Campbell who yesterday judged the Granville Hotel in Waterford as the Irish hotel of the year and The GreenHouse in Dublin as restaurant of the year.

In recent weeks the meat factories have cut Irish cattle prices by up to 40c/kg, or €150/hd, opening up a major price gap with prices in our main export market in the UK. The IFA have reacted strongly, reflecting the farmer anger on the ground with the factories.

A 28-year-old dairy farmer with a fondness for the annual “Pig and Porter” tag rugby competition has been chosen by Macra na Feirme as young farmer of the year.

The price of food in Ireland is set to soar this winter due to freak weather across the world, including droughts and deluges, destroyed crops.