The price of food is again on the rise, but the Government seems determined to keep what is potentially its most useful tool for understanding why we have some of the most expensive food in Europe firmly in the box.
There is a telling comment in the recent Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) report on supermarket prices published earlier this year, which largely exonerated the large retailers from accusations of profiteering. The CCPC “notes” that the body that should really be trying to find out why food prices are so high is the (relatively) newly established agrifood regulator, An Rialálaí Agraibhia.
According to the commission, “price development along the food supply chain, including buyer power and margins” falls within the remit of the body. The CCPC’s comments can be seen in one of two ways: buck passing or a not-so-subtle hint to a fellow State agency to get on with its job.
[ Why are food prices rising and who is profiting? Opens in new window ]
Either way, the commission is correct. We need to know what happens – in terms of pricing – to food once it leaves the farm gate and before it arrives on supermarket shelves. At present, this is basically a black box. It is also An Rialálaí Agraibhia’s remit.
We know, from the commission, that retailers are not responsible for the jump in food prices. If anything, they have kept a lid of sorts on the price increases being sought by suppliers. We also know that farm-gate prices are increasing at a faster rate than farmers’ costs.
Higher agricultural output prices were identified as a driver of the rise in food price inflation to a 20-month high of 5 per cent in August. Food price inflation is now running at close to three times the headline rate of price growth. The annualised increase in food prices in August (5 per cent) was the highest since December 2023, noted the Central Statistics Office this week.
[ Food price inflation jumps to 20-month high of 5%Opens in new window ]
Farmers – as you might expect are not too happy with being cast as the villains of the piece. They argue that they don’t set prices. They take the price offered by intermediaries such as creameries, grain merchants, or meat factories. (It’s a bit more complex in that farmers may often have an indirect interest in the intermediary)
The absence of any clarity about pricing in the food chain makes it all but impossible to have a coherent policy approach to pricing. You would have thought addressing the issue would be a priority, but the Government has to date refused to give An Rialálaí Agraibhia the powers it needs to do its job.
The regulator was set up in 2003 – unenthusiastically, it would appear - to fulfil our obligations under the European Union legislation on unfair trading practices.
[ Blame farmers not supermarkets for the rising price of foodOpens in new window ]
To date, it has only published one report of any significance. A survey of food suppliers’ experience of dealing with big supermarkets and large wholesalers was published in May and found little of concern, which would support the commission’s contention that the source of recent price increases lies further down the supply chain.
However, the regulator’s efforts to look further down that chain have run into the sand due to a lack of co-operation from businesses in the sectors it examined to date, namely egg production and horticulture.
Last September, it sought legal powers to compel businesses to provide it with price and market information. A year later, they are still waiting, as the price of food continues to rise.
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Asked for an update this week, the regulator referred to a written answer to a Dáil question issued by the Department of Agriculture on behalf of its Minister, Martin Haydon.
“As I have previously stated, I am fully committed to ensuring that the regulator is equipped with the necessary powers to fulfil its statutory function, subject to the necessary consultative and legislative process. This is necessary to ensure that the additional powers granted are proportionate.
“It is not possible for me to give a definite timeline for the consultative and legislative process, but I want to assure the deputy that the process is under way and that it is a priority for my department. This role is separate to the strong powers of enforcement the agri-food regulator already has in relation to unfair trading practices in the agri-food supply chain.”
The takeaway from this word salad would appear to be: don’t expect anything much to happen any time soon.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the Government’s foot-dragging is due to concerns about what might emerge from a deep dive into the food chain in terms of vested interests and illegal practices.
The potential for embarrassment is high, given the issues surrounding Irish whiskey made with non-Irish grain, the use of genetically modified imported products to displace domestic producers, and various other unsubstantiated gripes from the farming lobby.
Worse still is the expectation that they might be expected to do something about it. Every rural TD’s nightmare.
