Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the steps he has taken or proposes to take to ensure that incomes to the farming sector are stabilised having regard to the need to withstand the pressure from the large supermarket chains from forcing producers here out of business and in turn be replaced by food imports from locations with an undesirable history in husbandry, hygiene and traceability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4208/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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All foodstuffs imported into Ireland are highly regulated and must meet minimum standards established in accordance with EU food safety and traceability regulations.

The increasing concentration of retail power in the hands of a few large supermarket chains is an international phenomenon, which has fundamentally changed the balance of market negotiating power in the food chain. I have emphasised at EU and national level the necessity for a reasonable balance between granting price reductions to consumers and giving a fair return to suppliers and producers to ensure fair play in trading conditions and sustainability of food supply within the EU.

At national level the Tánaiste intends to implement a national Code of Practice for doing business in the Grocery Goods sector with a view to ensuring a fair trading relationship between retailers and their suppliers. The code will be initially on a voluntary basis.

The EU Commission has also issued a Communication on a better functioning food supply chain in Europe. As I said at the recent Council of Minister's meeting, I believe there is also a need to look critically at EU competition law (or its interpretation) in so far as it can serve to militate against consolidation at producer level to achieve the scale necessary for optimum efficiency and international competitiveness. There is a need also to audit unfair contractual practices with a view to ensuring compliance with competition law. I am very pleased that the Spanish Presidency had committed itself to progressing the whole issue of improving the functioning of the food chain. There is a need for considerable improvement so that all players, including producers and consumers, receive fair treatment.