IFA welcomes Hogan pledge on competition

A pledge by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, that farmers will not be put out of business by the price-cost squeeze on their profitability, was welcomed by over 1,300 of IFA’s voluntary officers who attended Tuesday’s 60th anniversary celebration in Dublin.

IFA President Eddie Downey said extreme price volatility, escalating input costs that bear no relation to product prices, excessive bureaucracy, the threat of damaging trade deals, and the inequity in returns from the food supply chain between producers, processors and retailers must all be addressed.

Mr Hogan said It is important that farm input costs fall in line with the fall in energy prices, and the EU will not hesitate to investigate any activity which breaches competition rules. He said, “Just like on the retail side of the equation, it is clearly obvious that highly concentrated input suppliers have real pricing power and are using that power.”