Agri sector ‘optimistic’ but wary of investment

The Ifac survey showed that 80% of food and agribusinesses are optimistic about the performance of their business over the next 12 months – up by 25% on the same time last.

However, the note of caution comes as regards investment with over four out of 10 businesses [44%] saying that they had delayed investment ‘due to uncertainty’.

As might be expected, 80% of businesses reported that costs are still increasing – ‘the number one challenge for them’ – followed by trade, tariffs and staffing availability.

Almost four out of 10 business-agri owners surveyed by Ifac [77%] did not have a clear succession plan in place while a similar percentage are using AI [artificial intelligence] tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Co-Pilot.

However, just over one quarter [27%] of business leaders expressed confidence that they understood the data security and privacy risks in navigating AI.

Over four of five respondents [83%] reported received requests from customers on sustainability data issues while 89% of businesses have maintained or grown international sales over the past year.

David Leydon, Group Head of Growth and Agrifood Consulting at Ifac, said that while agri-business leaders were feeling positive, nearly half of them are holding back on investing because they are uncertain about the future.

“Our report shows that the cost of doing business is a central concern and a persistent pain point – 80% of businesses cite increasing cost pressures.

“For others, exploring opportunities to differentiate through sustainable practices is key. Sustainability is now a core part of operations.

“Back in 2019, just 43% of companies were using sustainable packaging. Fast forward to 2025, and 83% of respondents report receiving a similar or increased number of requests for sustainability data from their customers in their value chain over the past year.

“This emphasises how crucial it is to have expert advice to address the challenges identified in our report, such as rising costs, foreign exchange fluctuations, sustainability, and the rapid adoption of AI,” said David Leydon. Other points of the Ifac survey include:

■ Over half of respondents are exporting to the UK and 25% to the USA.

■ 70% of businesses are not invoicing customers in euro, exposing them to risk.

■ 40% of respondents have no formal marketing strategy.

■ Nearly half of businesses were not aware of the Wage Transparency Act. [Ensures no gender based pay discrimination: comes into effect in June, 2026].

*Ifac provides specialist advice to the farming, food and agribusiness community. Founded in 1975, Ifac has a nationwide network of over 30 locations with 500 people serving close on 30,000 clients.

Pictured:  David Leydon, Group Head of Growth and Agrifood Consulting at Ifac,