Many Irish food exporters expect sales decline post Brexit

More than 180 Irish food and drink exporters attended a briefing in Dublin this morning to discuss the implications of Brexit.

The Bord Bia-hosted event was arranged to support companies as they try to navigate the new trading environment.

"The purpose of the briefing is to explore and begin to understand the implications of Brexit for a market that takes 41 per cent of our food and drink exports, valued at €4.4 billion," the agency's chief executive Aidan Cotter said.

A Bord Bia survey conducted in the immediate aftermath of the UK vote found some 40 per cent of food exporters here expect their sales to decline, while most cited exchange rate volatility as a key risk.

At today's briefing Brid Cannon, assistant secretary general at Department of Agriculture presented an overview of potential UK/EU trading relations.

She also sketched out the timetable for negotiating the UK exit, the subsequent trade agreement framework and the time available to companies to adapt to any new trading environment.

James Walton, chief economist with IGD, the grocery industry trade body, spoke about the macroeconomic implications of the Brexit on the UK grocery market while other speakers addressed the more immediate concerns relating to a collapse in the value of sterling.