Board shareholding sought for farmers

DIRECT shareholding for farmers in the Irish Dairy Board (IDB) was sought by the leader of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association yesterday.

The IDB, a commercial co-operative, markets the products of its shareholding member co-ops and dairy companies in 80 countries.

It owns the internationally established Kerrygold brand and is one of the country’s major exporters with annual sales of €1.9 billion.

President Pat O’Rourke, addressing the ICMSA annual general meeting in Limerick, said dairy farmers were facing a very uncertain future with milk price and market returns the key issues. In this regard the IDB will be crucially important, he said.

The book value of the IDB is almost €300 million, a very valuable asset for Irish farming, but this does not take account of the value of the Kerrygold brand.

When all is taken into account, the IDB is an extremely valuable entity at present and properly managed will become an even more important and valuable farmer co-op.

Mr O’Rourke said he would like to see dairy farmers benefit directly from the increasing value of the IDB.

This assumes the IDB will continue in any new re-arrangement of co-ops.

Dairy farmers and the ICMSA must be on guard to ensure that it is not undermined but, in fact, strengthened. It can fit into any re-arrangement of the processing sector in Ireland.

“We are not wedded to the existing structure of the IDB but we are most definitely in full support of centralised marketing. With centralised marketing, co-ops will not be undermining each other in key markets at the expense of their dairy farmers,” he said.

Mr O’Rourke said he believed that giving farmers a direct shareholding from the IDB would demonstrate the board’s value to farmers and it would also provide for the changes required.

The ICMSA will be making detailed proposals on these issues, which were totally ignored in the prospectus report on the dairy industry, he said.

Referring to the latest milk retail price war Mr O’Rourke said Tánaiste Mary Harney should immediately examine whether or not the groceries order, preventing below-cost selling, is being breached by the retailers involved.

He said the Competition Authority, which has been quick to threaten legal sanction on farmers, should investigate whether there is abuse of their dominant position by some retailers.

British Farmers for Action chairman David Handley said links between the ICMSA and his group were already proving very useful.