Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is not proposed to ban below-cost selling. We had a ban on below-cost selling up until the earlier part of this century. That ban was done away with in 2005. The reason it was discontinued was because it was found to be ineffective in achieving the stated objective. The key objective behind it was to ensure that the primary producer got a fair deal and a fair price but the practical evidence showed that it was bringing more red tape into the equation and more administration regarding how groceries were sold. This did not necessarily mean that the primary producer got a better price, however. If you intervene at retail level and make prescriptions as to how or at what level goods can be sold, the evidence in this country and internationally shows that this does not necessarily change how retailers or those higher up in the supply chain engage with primary producers in terms of the price they get. What people normally refer to whenever we talk about below-cost selling is looking to achieve below-cost buying instead in order that whoever is doing the buying is not buying from the primary producer at a price that is less than what it would have cost to produce the product or less than what it would take for the producer to get a fair margin. There is no real way you can intervene and set a price for the market. That is determined by markets and mostly in our case, as an exporting nation, by the prices on offer in international markets. We must ensure that there is transparency and maximise pressure to ensure farmers get a fair deal.

Regarding produce sold primarily in the domestic market, such as fruit, vegetables, potatoes and 50% of our pork, it is really important that we have responsive supply chains that respect the role of the primary producer and the fact that for a healthy food supply chain, you must have economically sustainable producers. We need supply chains that are responsive to the situation and cost of production. We have seen that particularly in recent months, when inflation and cost pressures have been significant at farm level and when there has been slowness in the responsiveness of the supply chain to the increased cost of production. We need to learn from that and ensure that in terms of engagement and ensuring there is respect throughout the supply chain, it is responsive. If this is not the case, those who produce the food will ultimately go out of business and you end up having to look for it outside the country, which is in nobody's interests. You do not have a supply chain where there is respect for all throughout it. I came forward with some support packages this year, particularly for the horticulture and pig sectors, which have been under pressure. We have seen increases in prices in some of those but these have tended to lag behind the increased cost of production, which has put pressure on farmers.