Consumers may see less Irish produce in supermarkets as growers grapple with energy costs
Print11 August 2022
The Irish Farmers Association has said many fruit and vegetable growers have had to cut back on the temperatures of their greenhouses as they grapple with a five-fold rise in energy bills.
As soaring energy prices have left many Irish growers struggling to pay the bills, Matt Foley of the IFA’s horticulture committee said that without a rise in the price of fruit and vegetables growers will “all go out of business”.
“Natural gas would be the main source of heating and with the war in Ukraine, prices are just astronomical,” said Foley. “And there seems to be no let up there. Just looking at the prices for this winter, they’re frightening in fact.”
Speaking on Newstalk last week, Foley said exports could not meet demand as growers abroad face the same issues: “Imports are the same problem,” said Foley. “In the wintertime a lot of our fruit and vegetables in Northern Europe come from Spain, Almeria in Spain, and the cost of transport, the same inputs they have to cultivate, they have all increased.”
Related Articles
Illegal PPP for growers in December →
Fans 0
Followers