Food companies dominate Northern Ireland's Top 100

Moy Park, one of the world's biggest poultry processors, is NorthernIreland's biggest company….for the fourth year in succession. The processor, now part of JBS of Brazil, is the region's only &pound1billion private company. Based at Craigavon in county Armagh, Moy Park heads a group of food businesses in the Top 100 list that's compiled by Dun and Bradstreetfor Ulster Business magazine. A fifth of the businesses in the region's Top 100 are from food and drink. Table topper Moy Park reported a "solid start to the year" after operating in a "challenging market". The company reported revenue of&pound360 million for the 13 weeks to 27 June 2015. Revenue for the same period last year was ?356 million. The poultry processor said revenue increase was driven by "good volume growth" in both the UK and Ireland, and other parts of Europe. Included in the Top 100 are Dunbia, a leading UK processor of beef, lamb and pork, Fane Valley Group, the biggest co-operative with subsidiaries in meat, dairy and cereals, Dale Farm, the major Northern Ireland dairy processor, and another meat processor, Foyle Food Group. Dunbia reported record turnover at ?764 million - up 5.2 per cent onthe previous year. Turnover at Foyle Foods grew by 15 per cent to nearly ?300 million. Fane Valley and Dale Farm also reported good growth. Placed prominently in the Top 100 are food distributors such as John Henderson, the Spar franchisee, Musgrave Retail Partners and Lamex Foods. The drinks sector in the Top 100 is represented by CocaCola Bottlers, Diageo and Old Bushmills. Northern Ireland's biggest 100 companies posted record sales of morethan \&pound22 billion in 2014, according to new research. Combined sales for the top 100 local companies rose by almost six per cent on the previous 12 months.