Imports dominate potato market
He said most frozen chips and a large proportion of potatoes for the fresh chip market are imports valued at about €35 million per annum.
Meanwhile, some 800 Irish farmers produce about a half million tonnes of potatoes from some 33,000 acres.And the country continues to have the highest per capita consumption of potatoes in the EU.
Minister Treacy said there is a marked productivity increase at farm level.
But Ireland overall has gone from being an net exporter to being an importer of over forty per cent of its domestic potato requirements.
Noting the imports threat, Ruaidhri Deasy, deputy president, said the IFA with Bord Glas support is studying the feasibility of a potato processing plant.
Calling on the Government to address mislabelling, he said it is in consumer and grower interests to have the variety and origin shown on potatoes being sold.
Criticising the proposed Bord Glas-Bord Bia merger, IFA Potato Committee chairman John Sheridan said the potato and horticulture sectors need a dedicated agency such as Bord Glas to promote and develop the industry.
Dismantling this vital service now will have major consequences for growers and the industry.
