As Irish food, drink, and horticulture exporters look ahead to 2026, the insights from Bord Bia’s Export Performance and Prospects Report 2025–2026 reveal a sector entering a more demanding phase of growth. While export values remain strong, the environment is becoming increasingly complex, volatile, and far less forgiving of inefficiency.
The year ahead will not be defined by headline growth alone, but by how effectively businesses adapt their operations, decision-making, and digital capabilities to sustained pressure.
A Strong Position, but Growing Constraints
Exports reached a record €19 billion in 2025, driven by price-led growth and continued demand in core markets like the UK, EU, and North America. However, Bord Bia highlights that this performance is under pressure from rising costs, tighter margins, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
Looking towards 2026, exporters will face fewer buffers. Labour, energy, and compliance costs are set to remain high, and consumer behaviour continues to shift towards value, convenience, and trust. As a result, operational resilience is becoming just as important as market access.
CEO Sentiment: Cautious Optimism, Sharper Focus
Bord Bia’s CEO Sentiment Survey signals a recalibration of expectations for 2026. While confidence has softened, sentiment remains positive.
Key Insights from Business Leaders:
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50% of CEOs expect export growth in 2026
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40% have delayed planned investment due to economic uncertainty
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Labour costs remain the biggest threat to competitiveness
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Many businesses expect margins to remain under pressure
This shift reflects a focus on discipline, prioritising efficiency, automation, and smarter use of resources. Rather than pushing for rapid expansion, businesses are focusing on maintaining their competitiveness and sustainability.
Digital Capability: A Competitive Lever for the Future
While the report doesn’t focus solely on digital transformation, it’s clear that digital capability is becoming a critical lever for competitiveness. Exporters aiming to maintain or improve their market position in 2026 consistently point to:
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Process optimisation
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Automation
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Better visibility across costs, inventory, and supply chains
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Faster, more informed decision-making
In an environment of sustained cost pressure and increasing regulatory demands, manual processes and disconnected systems will become a drag on performance. Digital capability is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s essential for day-to-day resilience and growth.
AI and Disruption: A Structural Shift
One of the more forward-looking signals in the report is the growing role of AI in shaping consumer choice. Bord Bia notes that algorithms increasingly influence how products are discovered, compared, and selected.
For exporters, this reinforces the importance of:
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High-quality, structured product and operational data
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Consistency across digital channels
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Strong system foundations to support traceability, compliance, and visibility
As AI plays a greater role in purchasing decisions, businesses that lack integrated systems and reliable data risk losing visibility and relevance in global markets.
What This Means for Business Leaders in 2026
The outlook for 2026 points to a clear set of priorities for Irish exporters:
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Efficiency matters more than scale
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Technology must support, not complicate, operations
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Data visibility is critical for managing volatility
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Incremental digital improvements can deliver outsized impact
It’s not about large-scale transformation programmes. Instead, businesses should focus on practical digital adoption, such as connecting systems, removing friction, and enabling teams to make better, faster decisions.
The businesses best positioned for 2026 will be those that treat digital capability as a strategic enabler, not just an IT concern.
How Target Integration Can Help
At Target Integration, we’re dedicated to helping food, drink, and manufacturing businesses turn digital ambition into practical progress. We specialise in connecting fragmented systems, optimising operations, and gaining real-time visibility across key functions — from finance and supply chain to customer and compliance data.
Our experts work with your teams to make technology work for your business, enabling you to operate more efficiently, respond faster to change, and build resilience in 2026 and beyond.
Let’s Get Started
If you’re ready to position your business for success in 2026, we’re here to help. Whether it’s streamlining processes, embracing automation, or improving your data visibility, Target Integration can support your digital transformation journey.
📩 Contact us today to discuss how we can help you build resilience and value in your operations this year.
