The underpricing of fruit and vegetables is a “vicious circle” which fuels Ireland’s food waste problem, dean of Cork University Business School (CUBS), Prof. Thia Hennessy has said.
Households accounted for 29% of the total food waste generated in Ireland in 2021, according to latest figures by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Ireland significantly relies on imported vegetables and fruit with 83% of our national consumption being imported, the agriculture economist told an Oireachtas committee.
Speaking about the challenges facing the industry before the Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Prof. Hennessy said she is “very concerned” about the price of fruit and veg.
“When I walk into the supermarket and I can buy a bag of carrots for 29c the week before Christmas because they are on promotion, that does bother me,” she said.
Bringing those products to the market costs a lot more financially and environmentally, Prof. Hennessy told committee members. Raising her concern for the sector, she added:
“When a product is underpriced like that you are just fuelling the food waste problem because people will buy it and they will say it only cost 29c, so what if I throw it in the bin?”
The agriculture economist said she hopes the newly established agri-food regulator can play a role in balancing consumer expectations and delivering a fair price for producers.
Fruit and veg prices
There is “great resistance” to higher food prices by consumers and although they want more nutritious and more environmentally friendly food, Prof. Hennessy said they want to pay less for it.
“Finding a balance between what is a good price for producers and what is a price that is helping to alleviate the current cost of living will be a very difficult role of that particular office,” she said.
Without consistent, independent tracking of input costs and production conditions it is difficult to provide advice on what might be considered a “fair” price for produce, she explained.
While there is “very rich” data on other agricultural sectors, the agriculture economist said the lack of data and insights on the horticultural sector means research ability is “very constrained”.
Horticulture sector
The horticulture industry had an estimated output value of €531 million in 2022, with food crops representing over 80% of this at €431 million, Bord Bia director of horticulture Mike Neary said.
Recent seasons have been challenging for the fruit and vegetable sector, which has resulted in some growers leaving the industry and a reduction in the production area of certain crops, he added.
The power dominance of supermarkets is one of many challenges facing growers, with below-cost selling being a major issue, Prof. Dolores O’Riordan at University College Dublin (UCD) said.
Pressure on the sector is also caused by input price inflation, especially the cost of fuel, and the impacts of climate change which led to a very wet winter and spring this year, she added.
As Ireland imports certain fruit and vegetables that could be grown here in season, there are and will be import substitution opportunities for horticulture in Ireland, Neary said.
Prof. O’Riordan said fruit and vegetable consumption in the Irish population is “far below” the recommended intake of 400g/day by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
To meet healthy dietary recommendation, fruit and vegetable consumption in Ireland needs to increase considerably by approximately 40% in adults, 88% in adolescents, and 80% in children, she said.