Tesco Ireland has confirmed it is to reduce the consumer retail price on its Irish creamery butter by 40c.
From tomorrow, Thursday May 4, Tesco own brand 454g butter (1lb) will now be priced at €2.99, down 40c from €3.39, and corresponding reductions will apply to all other Tesco own brand Irish creamery butter formats, according to the retailer.
All of the own brand butter sold in Tesco Ireland is 100% Irish, sourced from Irish farms.
Natasha Adams, CEO, Tesco Ireland said: “Following our reduction in retail milk prices in recent days, we are investing in butter retail prices to help customers with their household staple costs.
“With household budgets under increasing pressure we are absolutely committed to helping our customers, by keeping a laser focus on the cost of the weekly shop.
“We continue to work to offer customers the best possible value in their shopping trip.”
IFA reaction to butter price drop
Speaking to Agriland at IFA headquarters in Dublin this morning (Wednesday, May 3), president of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), Tim Cullinan said: “Obviously it’s a concern. We’ve seen food inflation over the last number of months.
“Farmers have been dealing with food deflation for a long number of years. Where farmers are at now is dealing with the substantial cost increases – the price of fertiliser, the price of energy – which haven’t come down anywhere near the level we have seen them coming down right across the EU.
“Farms are dealing with sustainability now as well – that’s adding substantial costs to the cost of production so this is very challenging [and] very worrying,” Cullinan added.
“It’s like what we’ve seen last weekend with the price of milk; what we’re going to see here now again is retailers have a price war around essential food commodities and this is something we have been challenging for years.”
“We don’t want to slip back to where, again, food products are going to be used as loss leaders,” Cullinan added.
“The average farmer has seen the price they are achieving for milk come back in the region of 15c or 16c/L. The price has come back, but the cost of production has not come back.”
Additional reporting by Louise Hickey.