Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the impact of the rising cost of imports on the agri food and fish sectors, if he has suggested any remedial action at EU level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23572/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Although I am happy with the excellent performance of the agri-food and fish sectors in the last 18 months I am of course aware of the challenges which must be faced including increased cost of inputs such as fuel, feed and fertiliser as well as access to credit. Agri-food exports are also subject to international commodity price fluctuations as we have seen in recent months in relation to milk prices. Teagasc research suggests that producer margins will fall in 2012 compared to 2011. However, they also believe that the decline will not cause margins to go below those experienced in 2010, which overall was a good year for the agri-food sector. Fuel feed and fertilisers are global commodities that have been subject to high volatility in recent years. The EU is supporting the efforts of the G20 to deal with this volatility. One of the measures that has already been implemented is an agricultural markets information system that provides detailed information concerning stocks and potential harvest data. This will provide more certainty to international markets and help to reduce speculative pricing in the sector.