Farmers to meet Fischler
The delegation, which will include IFA leaders and the chairmen and chief executives of the country's dairy coops, is to seek increased support measures for the sector.
IFA president John Dillon had urged the Minister to seek the meeting.
Mr Dillon said he wants all of the participants to have a solid position, concentrating absolutely on dairy farmers’ incomes, and the EU policy measures required to allow them recover in 2003.
“The average 182,000 litre (40,000 gallons) producer has lost €10,000 in 2002, as a result of price cuts and increased costs.
“Dairy farmers cannot live through another year like that in 2003,” he said.
Mr Walsh, meanwhile, accepted at the Teagasc national dairy conference in Killarney last week that this year was not easy for the sector.
The market situation was difficult in the earlier part of the year.
Only more recently has a degree of stability returned. Unfavourable weather involved further pressure and cost for producers.
“The difficult situation which prevailed during the year brought into focus again our over-dependence on certain products as a result of our very restricted product mix.
“EU support measures were utilised to a major degree.
“I must indeed acknowledge the response of the Commission to a number of approaches I made directly to Commissioner Fischler throughout the summer months.”
Mr Walsh said overall the difficult trading year has brought Ireland's dependence on EU supports for its products sharply into focus.
“The current round of WTO negotiations which began at Doha will, as we know, bring those supports under greater scrutiny and indeed pressure,” he said.
Mr Walsh said there has been, thankfully, a degree of recovery in the markets from early autumn.
But he said that recovery is acknowledged to be fairly fragile.
