Poor European harvests led to a surge in potato imports in 2024 but those arriving in Ireland from Egypt were among hundreds of tonnes of foodstuffs seized by customs officials.
Egyptian potatoes, seeds from the UK, shellfish from India and honey from China were among 1,782 tonnes of food and plant products seized at Irish ports due to safety issues and other regulatory reasons.
The Department of Agriculture is responsible for ensuring imports of food are safe and meet conditions set out in European legislation.
It provided data on seizures of imports at Dublin and Rosslare ports in response to a parliamentary question from Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly.
Some 789 tonnes of the seizures – 44 per cent of the total – were imports from Egypt with the majority of this relating to vegetables.
The department said there was a shortage of potato supplies in Europe in 2024 due to poor harvests and increased global demand. As a result, more potatoes were imported, including from Egypt.
It said potato imports from Egypt were subject to “increased official controls based on risk, following a high incidence of noncompliances identified during European import checks”.
In 2024, “multiple consignments” were seized at ports of entry to Ireland “due to the detection of a quarantine pest, the potato tuber moth … which is a plant health risk”.
Imports from the UK amounted to some 772 tonnes of the seizures – 43 per cent of the total.
Of this, almost 300 tonnes was in the category of “oil, seeds and oleaginous fruits”.
The department said seeds and plants for planting accounted for the products seized under this category primarily due to the absence of a required accompanying phytosanitary certificate.
It said consignments from Ireland’s closest neighbour account for about 80 per cent of all those subject to import controls, that the level of seizures is not disproportionate and reflects “the volume of consignments inspected rather than an elevated level of noncompliance specific to the UK”.
Seizures of food from India came to almost 106 tonnes. Of this the biggest category of product was almost 43 tonnes of “live crustaceans”.
The department said such products were “typically frozen shrimp/prawns” and that Indian crustaceans are subject to EU safeguard controls which require an “increased frequency of physical checks and antibiotic testing before consignments can be released”.
“Reasons for rejection included identification and traceability deficiencies, as well as cold-chain failures,” it said.
Seizures of food from China made up almost 28 tonnes, with just under 23 tonnes of this listed as honey seized in 2024.
The department said this was a single consignment “which was seized due to unsatisfactory traceability”.
Farrelly commended the diligence of department officials involved in the seizures and said it was “reassuring to know that those checks are happening”.