Price of basic groceries basket jumps 73% in three years

CONSUMERS have seen the price of basic groceries rise by three-quarters within four years, Fine Gael claimed yesterday.

This equated to a rise of €13.17 or 72.6%, while general goods and services rose by an average of 14% in the same period.

Yesterday, Fine Gael said that despite rising food costs to consumers, the amount of money farmers received was lagging behind.

Figures show that farmers were paid €8.29 for the basket of goods in 2004 and are getting €13.07 this year, a rise of €4.78 or 57.7%.

FG agriculture spokesman Denis Naughten said the figures showed farmers were not benefiting from higher prices in the shops.

“Rising food prices have many contributing factors but our figures show that the one cause Irish shoppers can rule out is rising producer prices,” he said.

“Somebody is making huge profits from the Irish food market at the expense of both shoppers and farmers.”

He said quality Irish food was at risk because of the widening gap between the money received by farmers and the amount paid by consumers.

In 2004 the difference between what the consumer paid and the farmer received worked out at €9.85 or 54.3% of the price of the food on the shop shelf.

This year the difference between the two figures is €18.24, or 58.3% of the price the shopper pays.

The rise from 54.3% to 58.3% shows farmers are getting a smaller cut of the final selling price, with supermarkets getting an extra share of the money paid by consumers.

Every year since 2004, Fine Gael has looked at the price of a kilo of round-roast beef, a litre of milk, 12 eggs, a cabbage, a cauliflower, a lettuce, a 10kg bag of rooster potatoes, a kilo of carrots and a kilo of mushrooms.

The party has then compared the averages of the prices in three national supermarkets with the amount the farmer is paid.

Each survey, including one published last month, has shown the farmer gets below half the final selling price.

Yesterday the Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation (IBEC) said stores in Ireland faced higher wage costs, VAT, and insurance premiums than neighbouring countries as well as high rent, energy and transport costs.

IBEC director Pat Delaney criticised Fine Gael, saying the party had failed to point out that inflation in food prices in Ireland has been lower than the rate in Britain since 1985.

He said: “It is important for all organisations and public representatives to recognise the reality of doing business in Ireland before whipping up a frenzy about consumer ‘rip-offs’ which are patently untrue.”

Grocery bill

Who gets what from the basket of groceries:

* 2004 Farmers get: €8.29.

Consumers pay: €18.14.

Difference: €9.85.

* 2007 Farmers get: €13.07.

Consumers pay: €31.31.

Difference: €18.24.