Mr. Robert Malone:

It is a little overly simplified in that they recognise some cost increases. I know plenty of farmers and Teagasc that have done work on cost increases this year. As we know, this year cost increases have been above and beyond what is expected. Last October, in Ms Brennan's sector of horticulture, Teagasc did an excellent report identifying cost increases across different sectors. There were cost increases of between 10% and 20%. I know suppliers at the scale where they deal directly with a retailer. They have sought 10%, 15% or 20% of an increase and have got back half of it. That is the reality and they have not got full costs recovery. People can take some price volatility but these producers are looking at facing into 2022 at not recovering their costs; they will be producing below the cost of production. It is very disheartening to see a head of broccoli or cabbage retailing at less than what it can be produced for.