Ireland's dairy industry should adapt to market realities as it is out of touch with what the consumer wants, according to the EU Commissioner for Agriculture.
Defending to Irish journalists his proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy, Dr Franz Fischler yesterday took a broad swipe at the Irish dairy and beef industries.
Farmers, he said, had to use the forthcoming changes to focus production on the markets both in the beef and the dairy sectors where Ireland had competitive cost advantages.
They should use the new rural development proposals to back new quality initiatives and produce at lower, more competitive prices but he warned them not to sit back and just take lower prices.
"Get out there and ask what people want and sell at a premium what is special about your products," Dr Fischler said.
Ireland was the lowest cost producer of milk and beef in Europe because of grass growth and it was the best place to produce these products in Europe.
But production was only half the story.
Ireland had to ask itself how much of its dairy production did it put into profitable areas like yogurt production and milk desserts which were very profitable.
In France, about 20 per cent of its production was in such areas. Ireland had hardly any yogurt and milk desserts and only put about half of what the Italians and French put into cheese production.
He said Ireland put five times as much butter into intervention as the Italians and three times as much as the French, and would therefore be worse affected by cuts in butter intervention prices.
Irish producers had to ask themselves if the Commission could sell butter any better than they could themselves once butter was put into intervention.
"If there is no new market out there at the price it is in Europe, you should not produce it. Ireland should produce more of what people want, not what aggressive foreign competitors produce, which is just as easily shipped here at a lower price," he said.
"There is a huge urban market across the sea in England and mainland Europe where there is a demand for new and interesting dairy products.
"It just makes no sense that the best producer in Europe is out of touch with what the consumer wants. If switching production away from butter is not enough, how about selling Irish products a little more sharply."
Ireland had one of the best images in Europe as a green, clean and pleasant land. Surely butter and beef had some premium from that image, he said.
"Can't you find someone to back your dairy industry with a positive young image?" he asked. "Get out and ask what people want and sell at a premium and tell them there is something special about your product."
Dr Fischler said he expected to have the reforms package agreed by mid-June and there was growing support for it.
He accepted there would have to be compromises.
He also said reports to be published soon on their impact on keeping farmers on the land, indicated the reforms would not increase the rate of people leaving agriculture.