The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Lobbying Organisation The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Date published 19 Sep, 2022

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Agriculture

Period 1 May, 2022 to 31 Aug, 2022

Specific Details IFA Proposals on UTPs (Unfair Trading Practices) - Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Agricultural & Food Supply Chain Bill 2022

Intended results IFA Proposes 7 additional UTP's in the final legislation 1. Ban Below Cost Procurement of Food There must be an additional UTP to prohibit the buying of agri-food below the cost of production by food procurement managers in dominant positions. This needs to be clearly directed towards the retailers and main wholesale food service providers. This will ensure vulnerable sectors reliant with fresh, perishable produce which has a limited self-life, will be paid their costs of production as a minimum. IFA proposes that published sectoral costs of production be completed by Teagasc, the independent agricultural education, research and advisory body. These cost of production per sector, must be kept under regular review in response to input markets changes, should be enshrined in the Bill as a minimum price that buyers can pay producers and suppliers of food. While not solving all problems with this inclusion, it will go a long way to preventing the dominant buyer from pricing farmers out of production as has occurred in the Horticulture sector for the past 20 years 2. Ban on Below Cost Selling IFA is seeking the reintroduction of a ban on the below cost selling of food. Originally prohibited as part of the 1987 Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order, the ban prevented retailers from using food as a loss leader in their business. Unfortunately, this order was subsequently abolished in 2006 by the then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD. A reintroduction of a ban on below cost selling of food will help safeguard domestic production of food, in particular fresh perishable foods such as fruit and vegetables. This will reduce our reliance on imports which are less environmentally sustainable than locally grown prodSelling food below the cost of production completely undermines domestic food producers. Selling food below the cost of production completely undermines domestic food producers. Our esteemed President of Ireland Michael D Higgins called out this practice at the Bloom Event in Dublin recently (02.06.22) and urged consumers to end the destructive practice of below cost selling by choosing not to purchase artificially low-priced food. IFA greatly acknowledge our President for calling out this practice but the consumer alone cannot solve the problem. The consumer is attracted to low-cost marketed groceries, while retailers have seemingly never-ending budgets to constantly barrage us with the low-cost food offerings. The IFA commissioned report into the Irish Horticulture Sector, February 2022, titled “Retail Price Compression Threatens the Viability of Irish Horticulture” shows that over the past 11 years, the average price of food fell by 9 percent while overall consumer prices increased by 13 percent. The report states that while it is not always in the best interests of the market to have a considerable level of regulatory intervention, it is necessary if there is clear market failure. The report identifies that the horticulture food supply chain is currenting experiencing market failure. If the issues facing this sector are not addressed, the sector will continue to contract, with considerable loss of rural employment; increased imports of fresh produce; and the potential of the sector to help the country in general and agriculture in particular to reduce emissions will be seriously undermined. In 2013, in the period before Christmas a number of retailers discounted fresh vegetables to 5c for 1 kilogram of vegetables to attract footfall into their shops in the lucrative Christmas period. Without protesting demonstrations by growers organised by the IFA, this practice would have continued and gained traction, likely leading to the complete elimination of the Irish horticultural sector. Reintroducing such a ban will give stability to the current cohort of very vulnerable growers of Irish fruit and vegetables in particular. Do we want to see a situation where, Ireland, as one of the most fertile crop-growing countries in the world, must import all our fresh fruit and vegetables? It may shock some that Ireland imports the majority of this produce today and the decline in farmers involved in growing of fresh produce for the local market can be traced back to the abolition of the Groceries Order Many lauded the removal of this ban on below cost selling and said the consumer would gain from cheaper food. This has been true to a large extent but at a massive cost to Irish primary producers. A national policy is needed that allows a greater proportion of our food to be grown locally in a recognised and measured sustainable fashion. 3. Tendering process Tenders originating from the retailers to secure supplies of agri-food from farmers/growers/groups should be multi-annual in nature providing, in so far as possible, greater certainty and support against the impact of unpredictable seasonality on food production. Mechanisms should be provided within existing arrangements to facilitate continued engagement, negotiation and renewed terms/price in exceptional circumstances and unforeseen market dynamics, including an agreed lag period to their implementation where relevant. Terms must be agreed in advance of annual planting of crops. 4. Promotions Where a retailer engages in any discounts on agri-food products as part of a promotion, the retailer shall, prior to a promotion specify the period of the promotion and the expected quantity of the agricultural and food products to be ordered while the promotion is on. Promotions must be clearly funded by retailers and not by suppliers. 5. Branded Food Products IFA calls on the inclusion of a minimum dedicated shelf space of at least 30% for branded food products. Premium branded food selling at a higher price to consumers will result in a greater price being passed down the food chain back to the farmer. It is clear that where a retail does not offer branded food to the consumer, the farmer will receive less. 6. Use of Logos IFA calls on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to give the new Office the power to ensure that all retailers of agri-food only use Government and agency approved logos (e.g., Bord Bia Quality Assurance Mark; National Dairy Council logo) to indicate the Irish origin of produce. The Bill must include a prohibition of using the Irish tricolour flag and other self-created logos in the likeness of the Irish flag that may confuse the true provenance of products. 7. Fake Farms Retailers of food must be prohibited from creating fictional ‘fake farms' to sell their own branded food. These “fake farms” could be misleading to the consumer and be interpreted as being of local origin, which may not be the case. IFA raised that use of “fake farms” by food retailers in 2021. The use of “Coolree Creamery” by Lidl and “Clonbawn Irish Dairy” by Aldi to sell their own private label milk was publicised by IFA in 2021. An application for a court injunction prohibiting IFA was continued exposure of these ‘fake farms', and was rejected by The High Court.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Tim Cullinan IFA President, Damian McDonald IFA Director General, Robert Malone IFA Senior Policy Executive, Elaine Farrell IFA Director of Governance and Oireachtas Engagement, Robert Malone IFA Senior Retail Policy Executive

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Meeting (1)

Email (2-5)

Submission (1)

Informal communication (2-5)

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Charlie McConalogue Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)

Matt Carthy TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Martin Browne TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Jackie Cahill TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Collins TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Fitzmaurice TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Joe Flaherty TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Paul Kehoe TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Brian Leddin TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Ring TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Victor Boyhan Senator (Seanad)

Lynn Boylan Senator (Seanad)

Paul Daly Senator (Seanad)

Tim Lombard Senator (Seanad)

Denis O'Donovan Senator (Seanad)

Barry Andrews MEP (European Parliament)

Ciarán Cuffe MEP (European Parliament)

Clare Daly MEP (European Parliament)

Frances Fitzgerald MEP (European Parliament)

Luke Ming Flanagan MEP (European Parliament)

Chris MacManus MEP (European Parliament)

Colm Markey MEP (European Parliament)

Maria Walsh MEP (European Parliament)

Deirdre Clune MEP (European Parliament)

Billy Kelleher MEP (European Parliament)

Seán Kelly MEP (European Parliament)

Grace O'Sullivan MEP (European Parliament)

Mick Wallace MEP (European Parliament)

Patrick Donohoe Special Adviser (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)

Brendan Gleeson Secretary General (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)