10% cut in retail price share ‘driving potato growers out of business’

Potato growers are being driven out of business by a 10% cut in their share of the retail price, the IFA said at yesterday’s National Potato Conference and Trade Show in Dublin.

However, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Tom Hayes, said new promotion plans should stimulate domestic consumer demand. Mr Hayes, the minister responsible for horticulture, cited the sector’s plan to apply for EU co-funding to support a €1m potato promotion campaign for the next three years. Yesterday’s event was hosted by the IFA, Teagasc and Bord Bia.

“Promotion is now the way forward and the industry should invest in information and promotion measures to stimulate consumer demand for our national Irish crop,” said Mr Hayes.