Almost 40,000t of peat was imported into Ireland from eight different countries during the first seven months of this year, new data reveals.
The Department of Agriculture data, obtained by this publication, includes peat imported for fuel (peat briquettes) and peat imported for use in the horticulture sector.
It shows that between January and July this year a total of 39,443t of peat (to the value of €6.7m) was imported into Ireland, this compares to 10,437t of peat (to a value of €3.2m) imported over the 12-month period of 2020 – marking an almost 300pc increase.
The countries of origin for the peat imported up to July this year include: Northern Ireland (36,714t), the Netherlands (1,112t), Great Britain (901t), Germany (415t), Lithuania (214t), Ukraine (55t), Belarus (22t), plus 9t imported from an unknown non-EU country.