Odlums mill closure will increase bread flour imports
Dublin TD Kevin Humphreys has warned that the closure will leave most bread in Ireland made from imported flour from the end of March.
“This is a serious issue for bread makers and consumers. It reduces their choice and has a possible implication for pricing.”
According to Odlums, the mill has been loss-making and unable to compete with low-cost imports, especially from Northern Ireland and the UK.
Odlums has been milling and packing flour for more than 160 years in Ireland, but the business has been owned by Valeo Foods since September 2010.
The company has stated that there is significant excess milling capacity in the UK, from which flour is imported into the Irish market at prices with which Odlums cannot compete.
The company continues to produce retail and “at home” baking products in its mill in Portarlington, where locally grown milling wheat remains the major source of wheat for all the products.
The Odlums Cork mill closed in 2009. Bolands Mills and Dock Milling and several other mills throughout the country have closed. The mill on Alexandra Road in Dublin Port has been in operation since 1920, producing 17,000 tonnes of flour annually.
