No firm price indications yet in grain harvest waiting game
IFA Grain Committee Chairman Paddy Harrington said on Tuesday that there had been very few price quotations to date as the trade continues to assess the situation.
He said the IFA advice to grain farmers who might be dealing is to only take a price on-account, and not to take a final price.
Meanwhile, Mr Harrington has repeated an IFA call for a moratorium on grain imports and preference to be given to assured Irish grain.
“We will be self sufficient in supplies of feed wheat for the coming season and there will be no need for imports.
“The industry should adopt a voluntary moratorium on the importation of feed wheat until such time as the market necessitates it,” he said.
Mr Harrington said the IFA has a seven point strategic plan to ensure the survival of the native grain industry.
It includes a moratorium on grain imports, orderly marketing of native grain and at least 100 and 106/tonne for green barley and wheat respectively, to cover the cost of production.
All imported grain must be assured and traceable to the farm of origin, and preference must to be given by feed compounders to assured Irish grain. An industry-wide approach must be taken to the promotion of assured Irish feed, utilising the maximum inclusion of native Irish grain.
Imported grain must be subjected to rigorous testing for contamination by unapproved chemicals or other foreign matter, as is the case with other feed ingredients.
The IFA also wants the establishment of a working group to ensure the survival of the Irish cereal industry.
Mr Harrington said Irish and EU grain is produced to the highest possible standards and yet it was expected to compete against imported grain, which is sometimes produced with the use of outdated and unsafe chemicals.
This phytosanitary issue is extremely important in safeguarding the interests of European consumers, and WTO rules should not be allowed to override this principle.
“Unless importers and some of the major feed compounders acknowledge the damage unnecessary imports are causing to the Irish cereals sector and actively purchase assured Irish grain, we will no longer have an indigenous cereals industry.
“If this industry disappears, so too will pig and poultry production in Ireland. Growers must receive a price for their grain that will cover the cost of production plus a small margin in order to survive,” he said.
