IFA calls for block of supermarket expansions

IFA calls for block of supermarket expansions
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0427/farming.html
Tuesday, 27 April 2010 12:23

The Irish Farmers' Association has said local authorities should block any expansion plans by supermarket multiples until a proposed code of practice for the retail sector is in place.

The Association has questioned why permission for more retail developments is being given when there is already serious over capacity countrywide, and many small shops and convenience stores are struggling to compete.

Addressing the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, the IFA leader John Bryan said the overcapacity of the sector is self-evident and that returns to the primary producer are being forced down in order to pay for the excess capacity and capital expenditure.

Mr Bryan said the Government and the EU Commission must accelerate their plans to regulate the sector as the multiples continue to take more profit out of the food supply chain.

The IFA president said the new statutory code of practice promised by the Government must enshrine the principle of fair trade for farmers in the grocery trade by providing a means for the more equitable share-out of the consumer price across the food chain.

He said the withdrawal of EU Commissioner David Byrne as a facilitator must not delay the implementation of the code of practice.