Greater Transparency Needed to Flush out Margins Enjoyed by Processors and Retailers

 

IFA President Joe Healy said the EU Commission’s announcement on greater price transparency as part of bringing greater fairness to the food chain is another important step in the campaign to give farmers a bigger share of the final consumer price.

“While there is full transparency around what farmers are paid, and the final consumer price, the margins enjoyed by processors and retailers remain a mystery. Farmers find it incredibly frustrating that this information remains hidden from themselves, and indeed consumers. It’s time to lift the lid on this,” he said.

 

He said the refusal to disclose the margins only fuels suspicion that those acting between the farmer and the consumer are doing very well.  For consumers, food prices are now lower than they were in 2001.

 

Joe Healy said as part of his work in chairing the COPA Food Chain Working Group, he would be pursuing greater price transparency and working with Commissioner Hogan to move it forward without delay.