IFA president Tim Cullinan has said he is shocked some supplies of fresh milk to Irish retailers have begun undercutting prices to secure market share.

The COVID-19 pandemic should have been a lesson in the importance of a viable food chain, he said, but some supplies appeared to favour aggressive undercutting to increase their share of a static market.

“There is competition, and then there are unfair, unsustainable practices, where retailers pressure suppliers to offer ever lower prices. The dairies that sell our milk need to wise up and resist those pressures – we know their inevitable results: the devaluation of a high-quality, nutritious product and lower milk prices for farmers,” Cullinan said.

He branded the practise unacceptable.

Food ombudsman

“The new Programme for Government has promised us a National Food Ombudsman [NFO] to enforce the Unfair Trading Practices Directive.

“This latest example of unsustainable pricing pressures shows the urgency of the need for such proactive enforcement, and I call on the Taoiseach to make it clear to all retailers and the food industry that he will fast track the introduction of the NFO,” Cullinan said.

The Tipperary native also stated that dairies needed to “cop on” and resist pressure from retailers.

“Retailers cannot have it both ways: proclaiming to seduce consumers with their commitment to sustainability, both environmental and societal, and riding roughshod over the economic sustainability of farmers,” he concluded.

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