The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has questioned if recent food price cuts by supermarkets have been tested for sustainability.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack was commenting as Tesco Ireland today (Thursday, June 8) announced that it is set to slash the prices of over 700 products in its 166 stores across the country.
The average price decrease of 10% will apply to a wide range of Tesco own-brand and branded products, including grocery staples, household and beauty items.
The retailer said that the price cuts are part of its commitment “to give customers great value”.
The move follows major supermarkets cutting the prices of own-brand bread, milk and butter in recent weeks.
ICMSA
ICMSA President, Pat McCormack said that everyone who is alarmed by the current climate crisis is entitled to wonder about the sustainability credentials of such price cuts by supermarkets.
“As usual, the price of food was deemed to be a matter for the supermarkets alone with no place or room for the longer-term considerations of sustainability and environmental consequences,” he said.
McCormack said that there was “the usual deafening silence” from “the raft of state and state-supported agencies and quangos all ostensibly dedicated to environmental protection”.
“Why did these groups have absolutely nothing to say on a decision by the supermarkets that did not even pretend to reference sustainability?”
The ICMSA asked why sustainability is the governing principle for farmers in rural Ireland, but “a matter of choice or public relations for the corporate retailers – the most powerful link in the food-supply chain?”.