In his speech to the National Potato Conference in Co. Meath on Tuesday, November 22, IFA President Tim Cullinan emphasized that, with input costs at an all-time high, supply chain uncertainty, and a challenging growing season, potato farmers are more dependent than ever on the market to deliver a fair price that keeps their farms viable.

“Growers need to receive a fair share of the retail value. They carry all of the risks while the facilitators and retailers take the lion’s share of the margin. The office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain is now approved and a budget is in place. This Office will be crucial in ensuring a fair share of the consumer euro goes to farmers, and in regulating unfair trading practices. If there isn’t a viable price for farmers for their work and investment, then we will see more farmers in horticulture and potato sectors go out of business,” Tim Cullinan said.

In the same respect, Cullinan called on the newly-approved Office for Fairness and Transparency in the Agri-Food Supply Chain to ensure a fair share of the consumer price is paid back to farmers and unfair trading practices are eliminated.

IFA Potato Chairman, Sean Ryan, added that the potato growers’ incomes are unsustainable and the farm gate price of the product must rise to cover storage costs alone. Retailers and packers/merchants must act now to address this if we are to have a potato industry in the future.

Shay Phelan, Teagasc’s tillage crops and potato specialist, mentioned that potato farmers have had a challenging season with input prices having increased dramatically over the last twelve months, while storage costs for the coming season will also see substantial increases. Blight and wireworm problems are also constant issues that have to be dealt with on an ongoing basis.

The economist Jim Power’s report’s startling conclusion was that retail price compression affects the Irish horticultural sector’s capacity to survive. The analysis, which IFA ordered, revealed that between January 2010 and January 2021, the average retail price of potatoes fell by 14.6%.