Factory closure a blow to sector

THE agri-food sector is the bedrock of employment in the Mallow area, but it has been dealt a body blow by the decision to close the town’s Nestlé chocolate crumb factory.

Mallow Development Partnership (MDP), representing economic, social and political interests in Mallow and 13 other communities in the area, made this clear yesterday in a response to last week’s decision.

A total of 57 jobs will be lost when the plant closes next March but the knock-on impact could be greater.

The local Sugar Factory, which has a cloud over it as a result of reform proposals by the European Commission and pressures at the world trade talks, supplies the company with 20,000 tonnes of sugar each year.

Dairygold Co-op, which has shed some 1,200 jobs, supplies Nestlé with 80 million litres of milk each year.

MDP chairman John McDonnell, the former SIPTU general secretary, said it had already sought a meeting with Enterprise Trade and Employment Minister Michéal Martin regarding Mallow’s situation but it was now even more urgent.

“It is important to recognise the crucial role that the agri-based industry plays in Mallow and environs.”