Mr. Pat Smith:

In recent weeks, I have had quite a number of discussions on liquid milk, poultry and eggs with retailers with whom we interact. We are pushing hard to get a price increase which is way overdue in the liquid milk sector. In the context of trying to move the matter on, one of the retailers said he was looking for money off somebody before he could do that. For anyone to say that type of skullduggery does not go on, is incorrect. There are only two things that motivate people in life - fear and pleasure. Retailers work on the basis of fear through delisting. Some element of retailer regulation is absolutely critical to balance the show in the context of processors and primary producers.

Deputy Ó Cuív asked about liquid milk. Own-brand milk has basically decimated the branded products. The situation is being abused. One can spend ten years developing a product - including research, development and innovation - but overnight a retailer can decide to get a replica product to undermine that investment. It is a drive to the bottom because they will get their margin in whatever way they can. One of the reasons that liquid milk is under so much pressure is that retailers have allowed so much of a differentiation between the own-brand and branded products. That is a strategic move by retailers, so effectively the percentage of own-brand is increasing all the time. The margin left for a processor to pay the farmer back is being diminished. Own-brand is a significant issue in the context of liquid milk, but also concerning other products. It was scandalous for the Competition Authority to put an organisation like ours to that cost because a couple of people tried to say they were going out of business producing liquid milk.

I want to answer Deputy Ó Cuív's point about meat factories. I have been in the IFA for over 20 years and was responsible for its organisational perspective for many years. Not once did the IFA ever blink, nor will we. Other than the IFA, I do not see anyone else who has challenged the meat factories. They blockaded the meat factories day after day. We are challenging them on price, as one can read in any newspaper, whether it is Henry Burns or James Murphy. We are fearlessly on the farmers' side and nobody has put more effort into getting live exports to ensure that there is price competition.

In the last week, both the president and myself had meetings with the NFU to see how we can get live exports into the UK. In the financial context, it is about 5% to 6% of the IFA's total income. The money comes from farmers and not a red cent comes from the meat factories. We pay them a commission to collect it, but it is paid by farmers. To even suggest that we would be bought, is very disrespectful to this association.

I wish to make a point about the weather conditions which are very difficult. It is an unprecedented situation so I ask this committee to use its good offices to get the Government to do a bit more now and appreciate what is going on in the farming community.