Farmers get just one-third of the final retail price of the goods they produce, according to a report published today the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA).
With many farmers operating below break-even, the IFA says the current situation is not sustainable and must be addressed through effective regulation of the food supply chain.
IFA president John Bryan said the food supply chain was “broken” because powerful retailers were dictating uneconomic price levels to producers.
Mr Bryan called on the Government and the EU Commission to introduce new regulation as well as enforcing existing competition laws to tackle anti-competitive conduct.
The new code of conduct promised by the Government for the grocery trade must provide the means for a more equitable sharing out of the consumer price across the food chain, he said.
The IFA is also demanding retailers be forced to reveal their profit figures, and it wants a ban on "hello money", "pay to play" money, below-cost selling and supplier-funded price reductions.
According to the IFA, average farm incomes last year were just €13,000, with the average incomes of full-time farmers at €16,000. “This collapse in farm incomes has seriously jeopardised the ability of farmers to maintain output levels and provide for their families,” said Mr Bryan.
“Primary producers, as the key providers of our food, are not getting fair play in the food supply chain and their viability is being seriously threatened.”
