The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has voiced support for calls made this week by the Agri-Food Regulator’s seeking more power for the office to tackle retailers which do not voluntary provide market and margin data.

The ICSA’s president Sean McNamara stated that the association is “concerned that the existing laws may not be strong enough to ensure the level of transparency needed throughout the food chain”.

The regulator has written to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue seeking an updating of agri-food supply chain law to grant its office the power to compel retailers and processors to hand over information not publicly available.

The regulator failed in attempts to seek this information from some retailers when trying to compile a report on the egg sector earlier this.

Meat processors

“The regulator’s office has begun working with meat processors and is collecting data on various aspects of their operations,” McNamara commented after meeting with CEO of the regulator Niamh Lehehan on Wednesday.

“This process will test whether the current legislation is sufficient to gather all the necessary information.

“While these initial efforts are encouraging, the key question remains: will these powers be enough to achieve the transparency we need, particularly in understanding how profits are distributed along the food chain?”

The situation cannot be allowed to pay out where “industry players avoid scrutiny or bypass regulations intended to safeguard both farmers and consumers,” McNamara said.

“The regulator must have the power to guarantee full cooperation and accountability throughout the sector."

Meat imports

The ICSA also raised concerns with the regulator on the “significant volume” of beef and sheepmeat imports entering Ireland.

“The practice of mixing imported beef with Irish beef for export, along with the large quantities of sheep arriving in carcass form, goes beyond a labelling issue – it is a matter of price manipulation,” its president continued.

“Primary producers want a fair price for their products and not to be driven out of business by underhanded tactics aimed at keeping prices down.”

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