Farmers call on retailers for fair price as they take protest to supermarkets

Farmers are calling retailers to pay them a fair proportion of the price they charge consumers.

More than 300 farmers from all over Ireland carried out a peaceful walk-through of the Portlaoise branches of Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Lidl, Aldi and Superquinn yesterday.

IFA president John Bryan said he wants to send a message to supermarkets that the impact of increasing on-farm costs like feed, fertiliser and fuel could leave average farm incomes this year at less than half the average industrial wage. “Processors and farmers can pass on more of their margin, because if farming and agriculture is to be sustained, we have to get a reasonable price for food.”