In answer to the demand for food in World War II, the area under plough increased from in 1939 to in 1944. Studies are inconclusive on how vital Irish food exports were to Britain,Barton, (1995). Northern Ireland in the Second World War, page 111. due to the difficulties in accounting for the effect of smuggling,Wills, (2007). That Neutral Island, page 153: (a Garda report) "large numbers of Belfast people travel on special excursion trains to Border towns in Éire and buy sugar, cigarettes, tobacco, butter and eggs. Yesterday 2.10.40, three special trains arrived here about 4p.m. carrying approximately 2,000 people, mostly middle-aged women, all armed with capacious shopping bags. They all left carrying a considerable quantity of the above goods..." the unreliability of statistics,Raymond, (1983). Irish Economic Development, page 121: "the Irish statistical service lacked both system and skill. Although several quantitative approaches were made to the nation's economic problems in the 1930s, their methodological assumptions were sometimes little better than makeshift guesses" and wartime censorship.Ó Drisceoil, (1996). Censorship in Ireland, page 323: (quoting from "Emergency Powers Order, 1939. Direction to the Press)... Matter relating to the arrival, departure, or disposal of cargoes... at any port in the State..." While Ireland's food production was increasing, British food imports were falling; for example the UK imported 1,360,000 tons of food in August 1941, but only 674,000 tons in August 1942.Blair, (1996). Hitler's U-boat War, page 699.
