Veggie price war 'ruining Christmas market for Irish producers'

A vegetable price war that has broken out between supermarkets in Ireland has "ruined what should be one of the best weeks of the year for Irish producers," according to Sinn Féin.

The party'sspokesperson on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Ferris TD, made the comments as German and Irish retailers went to war in the vegtable aisles, with some supermarkets offering produce for as little as 8c per bag/pack.

“Producers are contacting me about this price war which is destroying the Christmas market for them, when this should be one of the best weeks of the year for Irish vegetable growers,” Deputy Ferrris said.

“This is also a disaster for the small local vegetable shop, which cannot hope to compete when the retail giants go to war."

The Irish Farmer's Association is holidng a crisis meeting today to discuss the crisis.

IFA President John Bryan previously lashed out at retailer bosses, including the discounters, for making a mockery of the hard work of vegetable and potato growers by using giveaway prices on their produce in the run-in to Christmas.

He said, “To be offering fresh Irish vegetables at a price as low as 5 cent per kg, when it costs over ten times that to produce, is morally wrong and has to stop”.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland this morning that a mandatory code of conduct for retailers was due "within weeks".

"I think we will gets some relief from that," he said.