Fewer potatoes will be planted in 2022 as farm input costs continue to rise without growers having the guarantee that they will not be left carrying the full burden of these costs, Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) national potato chair Sean Ryan has said.

The IFA stated that the Government must now provide “significant financial support” to potato growers for them to survive the income squeeze that will result from high input costs.

Retailers must rise prices and guarantee a base price for growers for the potato sector to have the confidence to plant this year, it added.

“Many growers will simply not plant. They had to pay up-front to secure necessary inputs this spring,” said Ryan.

“The planting season is currently under way and already there are reports of growers cutting back on production because of costs,” he claimed.

‘Hammered’ by costs

A recently published IFA-commissioned report found that potatoes was the only class of fresh produce to decline in price at retail level in 2021.

The potato chair said that this drop in shop prices while growers’ costs are increasing is unsustainable.

“Growers who are storing potatoes are being hammered by soaring energy costs whilst receiving the same or less for their produce than they would have last autumn,” Ryan continued.

“It’s not a sustainable model and it will evidently lead to supply issues before new season stocks become available next year,” he said.