Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture last week, IFA Vegetable Committee chair Matt Foley said that the current imbalance of power in the food supply chain is unsustainable for family enterprises in Ireland.

The vulnerable vegetable sector is under particular pressure from the retailers and will not survive the price war if the Government does not address the issue, he warned. Foley said: “The number of producers has fallen and continues to fall, as family businesses are constantly challenged by their weak bargaining position in the food supply chain. The single biggest threat to our industry is the dominant position of the large retail groups in Ireland who are forcing down the prices, in many cases to below the cost of production.

“The Competition and Consumer Protection Act is a first attempt by Government to improve the functioning of the food supply chain but it does not go far enough. The act will be judged on the effectiveness of the implementation of the new grocery regulations, currently under consultation and due to begin this year,’’ Foley said.

“It is critical that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) takes a proactive role in ensuring full compliance by retailers with their obligations under the new regulations. The CCPC must take a proactive role in initiating investigations, ensuring compliance with and penalising breaches of the regulations,” he added.

“IFA has called for the European Commission to address, with urgency, equity for producers in the food supply chain by implementing statutory legislation that will prevent the below-cost selling of produce by retailers. The voluntary initiative undertaken in the EU over recent years is not working.

“Supermarkets are quick to wave the Irish flag and use individual growers for promotion, but that belies the real situation,’’ Foley concluded.