The last year sums up the problem. In the latest summaries of price charges across the world, the price of food is down 5% while The Economist magazine’s all-items index is up 5.7%.

There has been a recovery in all kinds of commodities over the last year with metals up almost 25% and oil up over 6%.

What is the sensible way for policymakers to reverse this seeming unending squeeze on farmers and food producers?

As we approach this harvest, the prospects are for prices to farmers to be roughly the same as in the early to mid-1980s, less than in some years, more than in others but when we look at wage levels and costs across the economy, we are on a different planet compared with 30 years ago.

The ironic part is that the EU has swung from them being a major importer of food commodities to where it is now – a dynamic, high-quality food and beverage exporter with an agri-trade surplus of over €18bn and agri exports have grown 29% since 2011.

What hasn’t been analysed is how much extra of the revenue earned by these high-end, quality-assured exports is ending back with the producing farmers. We are told that tightening quality assurance standards are necessary to “stay in the market”.

I have no doubt that this is true but we are seeing the added value in food sticking with the manufacturers and supermarkets rather than trickling down to farmers. We have seen no recent analysis on where the farmers’ share of the retail price for key food goods has gone over the last decades.

China has become our biggest market for milk powder and our second biggest for pigmeat. The encouraging signs on beef mean that it will become important for us in that sector as well.

I have no doubt that one of the reasons Glanbia’s shareholders voted so overwhelmingly for the recent structural changes was that they gave farmers direct access to plc shares and dividends, as well as retaining a large co-op share in the overall business. But this single example does not get over the central dilemma of how Irish and EU farmers can share in the overall wellbeing of the agribusiness sector. The direct payments we have seen over the last 17 years go some way towards trying to get money into farmers’ pockets over and above what the present market system will pay. Commissioner Hogan has asked for ideas that might shape his proposals for the forthcoming review of the CAP.

We should hope that some sensible options are submitted to him.