Global sales of Irish seafood grew 10 percent and total sales surpassed EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 million) for the first time last year, according to Jim O'Toole, the CEO of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the country’s seafood marketing arm.
Irish seafood exports reached EUR 666 million (USD 759.6 million) in value, while domestic sales reached EUR 429 million (USD 489.3 million), up 4 percent from the year before, BIM reported in its recently released annual report. As a whole, seafood contributed EUR 1.15 billion (USD 1.3 billion) to Ireland’s economy in 2017, up 6.4 percent on 2016.
O’Toole called 2017 "an exceptional year for the country's marine economy” and said Ireland was "well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the current global seafood trends,” according to the Irish Independent.
In its marketing efforts last year, BIM spent EUR 34.4 million (USD 39.2 million), an increase of 36.7 percent over 2016’s spend of EUR 25.4 million (USD 29 million). Of that, EUR 7.3 (USD 8.3 million ) was spent on staffing costs for BIM’s 142 employees.
Photo courtesy of Bord Iascaigh Mhara
