Consumers urged to buy Irish food this Christmas
Educational body Agri Aware’s Buy Irish Christmas campaign reminds consumers that the food sector accounts for around 300,000 jobs in the Irish economy.
“Source a high-quality Irish turkey, stay with our traditional Irish vegetables and make sure your roast potatoes are home- grown,” said Agri Aware chairman Richard Moeran.
“Buying Irish is the smart choice and will ensure jobs for farmers and food companies in your local community. This guarantees they can continue to deliver quality, wholesome Irish food to the consumer.”
Agri Aware said one in seven Irish jobs are in agri-food, adding that food exports contribute almost €10bn to the economy.
Research by Ipsos MRBI found that 85% of the public believe Irish farmers provide quality, safe, traceable food at an affordable price, while 88% of Irish people say they try to buy Irish food to support Irish farmers.
Meanwhile, the IFA has warned retailers that farmers will not tolerate a repeat of the savage discounting of Irish potatoes and vegetables which occurred in the run-up to last Christmas, where growers were the victims in a vicious battle over market share.
IFA president Eddie Downey said: “Pricing decisions will be made in the coming days by the retailers for the run-in to Christmas. In 2013, some items were sold at one tenth of their production cost. This action has the consequence of undermining local growers and sending a misleading message to consumers regarding the inherent value of what is essential and healthy food.”
