IFA to meet retailers and packers on potato prices
Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) representatives are to meet retailers and potato packers on the subject of potato prices over the coming weeks.
With the start of the maincrop harvest not that far off, growers want their costs of production and a margin, allowing for further investment, to be fully recognised, by the market.
IFA National Potato Committee chair, Sean Ryan, said that this is "the fundamental point that we will be making to both the packers and retailers at these meetings".
“It costs between €3,000 and €4,000 to grow an acre of potatoes at the present time. These are Teagasc figures, and they do not include land rental or storage charges.
“This level of investment must be fully reflected in the prices set for potatoes across all outlets.
“IFA will also be hosting a number of grower meetings over the coming weeks to get a sense of the mood within the sector at the present time," he continued.
Significantly, the IFA representative has predicted small uplift in the area of potatoes grown in Ireland this year, but "this has yet to be confirmed by the Department of Agriculture".
“Normally, the area of potatoes grown comes in at around 21,000ac. However, Irish farmers are now committing to produce significant quantities of salad and chipping potatoes. In turn, this is reducing the levels of imports coming into the country.
“So, we will see how all of this plays out in the official planting figures when they are published," Ryan added.
Ryan has confirmed that potato crops are growing well at the present time.
“Most main crops were planted very late. However, the recent rains and now the lift in temperatures has acted to boost growth rates significantly.
“Potato crops that are going through their growth stages at such a fast rate are particularly exposed to blight attack. This is because new leaf matter is being produced every two to three days.
“Under these circumstances, it is important for growers to fully implement their blight control programmes over the coming weeks.”
Meanwhile, IFA continues to seek compensation for potato growers impacted by last autumn’s floods.
According to Ryan, 700ac of crops were not harvested.
“In many cases it was the combined impact of the floods and the heavy frosts, which followed in January of this year. As a consequence, potatoes just rotted away in the drills.
“We recently met Minister McConalogue on the issue of seeking compensation for affected growers. Hopefully, we will hear back from him in the near future," he said.
