Intervention sought in Breeo takeover

THE intervention of Tánaiste Mary Coughlan was sought yesterday to have the Competition Authority drop its Supreme Court appeal against a High Court decision allowing the Kerry Group takeover of Breeo Foods.

Irish Farmers’ Association president Padraig Walshe informed Ms Coughlan he was very dismayed at the Competition Authority’s appeal.

He said the sale of Breeo by Dairygold/Reox to Kerry was first agreed in March 2008 and has already been held up by the Competition Authority for 13 months.

Now there is the prospect of further lengthy legal delays as a result of the appeal to the Supreme Court.

“It is no exaggeration to say that this latest legal challenge by the Competition Authority to the Breeo sale is damaging the interests of the Irish food industry and its farmer suppliers at a time when the farming and food sector is already under huge pressure.

“I am therefore calling on you to consider seriously your responsibilities towards the agri-food industry and to intervene with the authority with a view to having the appeal dropped.

“This would also avoid the further waste of public funds on legal costs in pursuing a discredited position,” he said

Mr Walshe said Dairygold/Reox and Kerry are held in a legal stranglehold by the Competition Authority over theoretical points of competition law.

Mr Walshe said the reality is well understood in the agri-food industry. Retailers block well-justified price rises and extract unjustified margins for themselves, at the expense of farmers and food processors, he said.