Debate contribution: Apple-growing Industry in Newry and Armagh

Debate contribution by Mr Justin McNulty on 7 October 2025.

MLA

Mr Justin McNulty

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

7 October 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Apple-growing Industry in Newry and Armagh

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5165261

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this Adjournment topic before the Assembly today on a matter that is close to the heart of many families and communities in Armagh, and that is the future of our apple industry. I am standing here beside a Derry girl, and Diona Doherty, another Derry girl, spoke on a recent podcast about a most enjoyable experience with her family picking apples in an "Orchard County" orchard.

I fully agree with Diona, as, just a few weeks ago, my son and I joined the McGleenan family on the Tullysaran Road near Blackwatertown to help collect a few tons of Armagh's famous Bramley apples. Doing so was wonderful for the mind, the body and the soul, and I also enjoyed some of the apples that we picked, which were uniquely fresh, with a distinct taste.

We are proud to call Armagh the "Orchard County". It is a name steeped in heritage, having been built on generations of hard work, skill and care. Armagh can trace its relationship with apples back as far as 1,000 BC, because there is evidence that they grew close to our historic Navan Fort. For centuries, families across our county have planted, tended to, harvested and sold the finest apples in Ireland. Armagh's Bramley apples hold protected geographical indication (PGI) status, which they share with Comber potatoes, Lough Neagh eels and champagne. Despite that PGI status, 90% of the apples consumed here are imported. Just 10% are home-grown. Anyone can import apples, but not everyone can plant, grow, nurture and harvest them and then bring them to market. That takes experience, patience and a deep local knowledge. It is part of the culture. It is a proud tradition. The apple orchards are an integral part of whom we are in Armagh. Today, however, our apple growers are struggling, not because of a lack of passion or skill but because they have been left behind by a system that gives them no support. In the Republic, apple growers can access between 20% and 40% grant aid. They also receive support for plant and equipment. That assistance is helping the Republic's growers and processors expand, modernise and stay competitive. In the North, however, there is no equivalent support. There is zero. Our growers have been forced to compete on an uneven playing field. Some of our growers are even planting new orchards in the South simply because the support is there and not here. They are upping sticks and moving to the South. That cannot be right. Minister Muir met growers and industry representatives, and I acknowledge the engagement that took place, but, since the positive words, there has been no progress, action or tangible support. Meanwhile, the pressure on our growers is only increasing. Minister, where is the support for new orchards? Where are the incentives for new entrants to the industry? Supermarkets across Ireland are crying out for Irish-grown produce. There is a massive appetite for local apples, but our producers simply cannot meet the demand, not because they do not want to but because they cannot afford to. They are crying out for help. Many of our local orchards, which gave us our heritage, need to be grubbed out and replanted. The market has changed. There has been a generational shift. People are not baking apple tarts any more. The cider market, which many relied on, has dropped off dramatically, with Clonmel now taking only 30% of what was expected from the 2025 harvest. The juicers and dicers need only so much. Years ago, a grower could get £100 for a bin of apples, but they are now lucky to get £50 or £60. That is not sustainable. One grower told me recently, "Justin, I could plant 1,000 acres of Gala apples and still not have enough". The potential and the ambition are there, but, without support, our growers simply cannot make it happen for them. Setting up even a basic grading and flotation system can cost three quarters of a million pounds, and that is out of reach for most small, family-owned orchards. The apple-growing industry section of DAERA is, in the industry's own words, the "forgotten section". The research capacity in the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has effectively downed tools when it comes to orchards and apple production. There is no pipeline of innovation or technical support to sustain, modernise or reinvigorate the industry. When we compare the support structures in the North with those in the South, the difference is stark. If a storm hits in the South, there is an immediate relief fund set up, but there is nothing provided here. Even the paperwork for getting support from Invest NI is so complicated and cumbersome that many small agribusinesses take one look at it and say, "Sod this. I will try to figure out a way to raise the money myself". That is not how to encourage growth or innovation. It is disappointing that the Economy Minister is not here to hear the debate. Ireland is far too small an island to have two completely different regimes when it comes to agriculture and agri-food support. Minister, what are you doing and what is the Economy Minister doing to mirror the regulatory and support systems for farmers, growers and associated agri-businesses? A "little North" status quo approach will not save an industry that is on its knees. The truth is that the apple industry in Armagh, which was once vibrant and financially sustainable for the parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts of growers and producers, is now struggling to survive. It does not have to be that way. We need a clear policy shift: a strategy to move from an over-reliance on Bramleys to eating different apple varieties, which will ensure that our growers can compete fairly across this island. We need DAERA and the Minister to engage seriously with the industry to put in place targeted support, grants, research, investment, and growing and production assistance to rebuild confidence and capacity in that proud sector. I say this to the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Minister for the Economy: please think big. Please demonstrate some vision. Please show some pride in our people and place. Please support an indigenous industry that is just waiting to take off. Give people, businesses and families hope. Can you imagine Armagh apples glimmering freshly on the shelves of every supermarket in Ireland and beyond? That is the potential. That is the BHAG — the big, hairy, audacious goal. It is achievable if this place, for once, ignited a spark of hope that could reverberate through the generations. How do you like them apples, Minister? It is not about just apples; it is about sustaining family farms, rural communities and a piece of our cultural identity that has shaped Armagh for generations and centuries. Let us make sure that the "Orchard County" lives up to its name, not just in memory but in reality.

1,174 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:23 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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