The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) president has called on all players in the food chain, particularly large retailers, to support fruit and vegetable growers.
Francie Gorman said that growers are currently battling with the adverse wet weather conditions and will need help to ensure they can remain financially viable.
“Growers of fruit and field vegetables in particular are under intense pressure due to the continued challenging weather conditions.
“Field work remains at a standstill in most parts of the country where horticulture growers operate, and 2024 spring has seen below average sunlight levels delaying glass house and polytunnel production by several weeks,” he said.
Growers
IFA Fruit and Vegetable Committee chair, Niall McCormack said that 2024 has started on the worst possible weather footing, with delays in planting all field vegetables and potatoes.
“This wet weather induced delays will mean growers have less crops to sell to their customers in the peak summer and autumn harvest months and less income as a result.
“Many growers are not in financial position to survive the year ahead unless their end customers step up and put in financial supports to ensure they can remain in business,” he said.
McCormack called on all retailers to put in place “a 2024 weather supplementary payment” on every punnet of fruit, kilo of carrots, bag of potatoes and head of lettuce that is supplied this year.
“Without this commitment of additional financial support, many growers are facing disaster.
“We have seen growers number decline every year due to the low margins of growing horticulture food crops and without immediate support, the sector could decline beyond saving this year,” he said.
McCormack said that the call for assistance was being directed at “the big five retailers” in Ireland: Dunnes Stores; Tesco; SuperValu; Lidl and Aldi.
Agriland has contacted the retailers to establish what supports they will offer growers.
In a statement, SuperValu said that it “remains the greatest supporter of the agri-food sector in Ireland”.
“Our commitment to and support of famers and farming has always been steadfast, and we continue to invest significantly in the sale of Irish products through extensive marketing and distribution campaigns,” it said.
Meanwhile, a Lidl spokesperson said: “At Lidl, we work collaboratively with our local suppliers to ensure high quality and availability of our products is maintained to a high standard.”
A recent report published by Teagasc confirmed that combined input costs have risen by 40% across Ireland’s horticultural sectors since 2021.
In 2024, labour cost is the key driver of inflation and outweighs reductions in other input categories, including energy. Labour represents on average 40% of total input costs for most sectors.