Vegetable growers are fed up with their products and hard work becoming a weapon in the war of attrition between the major multiples, the IFA has said.

The comments come following a protest by farmers in a Eurospar in Kilkenny on Thursday, where onions, as well as a number of other fruit and vegetables, are currently being sold for 9c.

As retailers compete to reduce prices on fresh fruit and vegetables to below 10c in the run up to Christmas, Matt Foley, Chairman of the IFA Vegetable Committee said: "Low cost selling sets a dangerous precedent, undermines grower and sends a misleading message to consumers regarding the inherent value of essential and healthy food."

Foley repeated calls for strong regulation in the retail sector and said the new Competition and Consumer Protection Act introduced this year "neglected to address the issue of below-cost selling".

He said the IFA will not allow the industry to be "decimated by crude price-cutting tactics, which give the illusion of value to the consumer. Farmers can’t continue to produce food at rock bottom prices which put their businesses at risk."