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Pre-Christmas offers on food by the big five retailers will put more farmers and growers out of business, IFA president Joe Healy has said.
He said that discounted prices for meat and vegetables in the supermarket chains this Christmas were unsustainable.
“Effectively, the retailers are in a race to the bottom where all supermarkets move their food prices to the lowest available in the market, regardless of the consequences for farmers and growers.
“Horticulture growers are particularly vulnerable as they have perishable seasonal product and they have no choice but to take the immediate price offered by the retailers,” he said.
Handful of growers
“We now have a situation where we have only a handful of growers in this country for most vegetables. This is a direct result of downward pressure on prices driven by retail competition,” Healy said.
He added that supermarkets are discounting food to drive footfall.
“While this may appear good for consumers, it’s not sustainable and it’s driving growers out of business to the point where some vegetables are no longer grown in Ireland.
“This whole situation needs an urgent review. We must re-instate the ban on below cost selling and introduce a grocery code regulator who will look at fairness in the food chain,” he said.
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