Mr. Brian Rushe:

We have potential to grow big yields because we get the rain. With the rain, there are input needs in terms of fungicides and things like that. That is a cost that many of our European counterparts just do not have. A dry climate brings with it certain advantages in terms of managing a crop, so they have that cost advantage. That is what we are trying to compete with. There needs to be an appreciation from the retailers, and you would hope it is not too late, around the constant compression like what they have done or when they say that if they cannot get it off us at a particular price, they will bring it in from Spain. Customers are asking why their onions are coming from the other side of the world and where the Irish onions are. There seems to be a realisation at retail level that what they have done is coming home to roost. They need to move quickly now to make sure we do not lose the critical mass of growers that we do have.