An Taisce wants new law to display farmers’ prices
Trust believes ‘primary produce amount' must be displayed alongside certain foods' retail prices in the multiples, in a bid to stop below-cost selling
Print28 April 2014
An Taisce, the national trust for Ireland, has asked the government to introduce a new law that requires the price farmers received for their goods to be displayed alongside their retail prices in stores. The group says consumers are entitled to know whether the food they are buying is being sold below what farmers receive for producing it. An Taisce therefore believes new legislation is needed to ensure large retailers display the rate they pay to farmers alongside the retail sales price.
"Recent surveys indicate that two thirds of consumers say that below-cost selling is against the long-term interests of customers while almost 90% back a call for new legislation to help ensure farmers get a fair price[1]", said James Nix, An Taisce’s policy director. "The next step is to facilitate informed choice", he said, "and it will remain impossible to avoid below-cost food until the amount paid to the farmer is shown alongside the sales price".
Stop below-cost selling
He added: "The government has the opportunity to aid informed choice. And ensuring the ‘primary produce amount’ is displayed alongside the sales price is a clear and tangible step that Ministers can take regarding the below-cost selling which is endangering Ireland’s horticulture sector".
In terms of the legislation itself, An Taisce suggests that it provide for a list of foods (e.g. carrots, onion, potatoes, sprouts) where the ‘primary produce amount must be displayed alongside the sales price. It believes there should also be an option to add to that list by Ministerial order, giving in-built flexibility to the system.
Apply to retailers with more than 5% share
Importantly, the law would apply to grocery retailers holding 5% or more of the national market. This means that if the proposed legislation is accepted, it would apply to the big five grocery retailers – Tesco, SuperValu/Centra, Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl, all of which have market shares higher than 5%.
At the end of last year the director of the National Consumer Agency (NCA) welcomed below-cost selling, suggesting it was "good for the consumer". However, An Taisce says that these comments have no long-term evidential basis, adding that they indicated a lack of awareness of the risks of concentrating market share around fewer and fewer grocery retailers. The group said there is a particular risk of larger stores forcing farmers to stomach ultra-low prices as well as squeezing out rival shops that sell only, or sell mainly, fruit and vegetables on Ireland’s main streets.
Impact on farmers
"The costs are already being incurred by farmers, and consumers know the longer-term risks of inaction", added Nix. "The question now is whether government is prepared to take simple steps to empower consumers make informed choices?"
However the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) is reported not to have greeted the suggestion with particular enthusiasm. "Displaying producer prices will not achieve what (An Taisce) thinks it will," the IFA said.
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