More than half of primary producers (51%) would be likely to make a complaint to the Agri-Food Regulator about an unfair trading practice (UTP).

That is according to the findings of the Agri-Food Regulator's third annual survey of farmers, fishers and growers which shows more than one third remain unlikely to report an issue.

Of the 501 primary producers who completed the survey between August and September, 75% were aware of the regulator, with this rising to 86% among dairy farmers.

The survey conducted by Red C Research found that 59% of those who had heard of the regulator knew very little or nothing about its role.

One in four respondents said they had never heard of the organisation.

The regulator said this highlights the need to "build deeper familiarity and engagement" with primary producers.

Agri-Food Regulator

While most producers (62%) were aware of the regulator's role in protecting suppliers and enforcing regulations, awareness of itsmarket transparency role is lower at 49%.

A third of primary producers were aware of the regulator’s confidential complaints process regarding UTPs.

The regulator said this suggests that "important supports and protections are not yet fully understood".

Unfair trading practices

Niamh Lenehan, chief executive of the Agri-Food Regulator, said it was "encouraging" to see a high level of awareness of the office as it approaches its three-year milestone.

"It is especially reassuring that primary producers would be likely to make a complaint about an unfair trading practice, which demonstrates a high level of trust in the complaints process," she said.

The survey found that just 9% of producers have visited the Agri-Food Regulator website.

The website features interactive price and market data dashboards on seven sectors, including beef, dairy, sheep, egg and poultry, vegetable, fruit and horticulture.

Feedback from dashboard users was positive, with 71% reporting that the tools meet their needs.

"The objective of the dashboards is to help improve transparency by making disparate publicly available datasets easier to access and understand, so this positive feedback points to the practical value of this initiative," Lenehan added.