The recent National Potato Conference, organised by the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) in conjunction with Teagasc and Bord Bia had the overall theme of ‘Looking to the Future’ and suggested that while growers face many challenges, there is also optimism for the year ahead.
IFA president Francie Gorman reflected on the difficult 2024 season and pointed out that the costs of many inputs including potato seed, crop protection products, fertiliser and machinery continue to rise. However, all five of Ireland’s main supermarkets raised their retail prices this year (a move he described as positive and overdue) and potato consumption in the country continues to increase.
“Compounding this challenge has been the added difficulties confronting potato growers of sourcing seed and land suited to the growing of their crops,” he said. “All costs continue to increase significantly at grower levels. These include fertiliser, seed, chemicals and machinery.
Bord Bia confirmed that the Irish retail market for potatoes reached €219 million over the past 12 months, a 27.6% increase in value and a 5.3% increase in volume growth. One of the key drivers has been growth in potato consumption among consumers of 35-years-old or below. Furthermore, 30% of potatoes are now sold in value added form.
Another challenge is the declining availability of crop protection chemistry, and Teagasc’s head of crop knowledge transfer, Michael Hennessy commented, “The loss of some of our most of effective chemistries, in terms of crop protection, will add an extra layer of complexity when it comes to controlling blight over the coming years. It will be very difficult for farmers not to change, certainly in terms of their blight management strategies. But this will have to happen during the period ahead.”
Food Retail Analyst Malachy O’Connor urged growers to agree long-term supply contracts with retailers to help boost business resilience.
