Call for supports as number of Irish growers plummets

The country's fruit and vegetable producers are calling for more support from retailers and the Government to address an alarming decline in the number of commercial growers in recent decades.

Since the 1990s, it is estimated that the number of commercial growers here has plunged from over 600 to around 70.

"We're down to five tomato growers, large-scale tomato growers in Ireland," says Martin Flynn, whose family has been growing tomatoes near Swords in North Co Dublin since the 1960s.

The third-generation grower says "that's predominantly due to the cost of getting into the sector and the level of investment needed to build modern glasshouses … a hectare of glass costs €2.5 million to build.

"You need long-term contracts, long-term commitment from retailers and also you need to be supported at Government level in terms of the massive problems we're seeing with energy prices."

Mr Flynn said the profit margins "are so tight you need to keep reinvesting".

"You need to be using the latest technology, you need to have the best equipment."

To make such large-scale investments he believes "we need the retailers on board. We need them to make long-term commitments to growers so they can invest and continue to produce".

While the number of commercial growers has fallen dramatically, there has been a degree of consolidation in the domestic horticulture sector.

Some of the operations in the country would be a lot larger than previously and there hasn’t been a dramatic fall-off in output.

For example, the Flynn family would be on the larger end of the scale - growing around 70 million tomatoes across two sites on a combined area of ten acres.

Though, in recent years in particular rising costs have become a huge issue across the sector.

This has been underscored in the past year by soaring energy costs.

According to research from Teagasc, input costs across the horticultural sector have jumped by over 76% since 2020.

Growers can’t pass on costs because they are 'price takers’

Michael Wallace, Professor of Agricultural and Food Economics in UCD, notes that growers haven’t been in a strong position to pass many of those costs on as they are "price takers.

"Supermarkets obviously are large chains trading with growers that often will have limited alternative customers for their products.

"That gives a certain imbalance in the power relationship. Also, when we think about products like tomatoes - they're perishable - so you can't just sit and have them stored for a time while you negotiate prices."

In terms of how growers can manage their rising costs, Prof Wallace says "investments in a lot of new technology" could enable greater levels of automation to lower labour costs, which he said "remain a huge chunk … over 40% of costs typically on horticultural farms".

Growers ‘can’t afford to stay in business’ – IFA

According to Niamh Brennan from the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), "the cost of doing business and the margin that the growers receive has widened significantly"

Ms Brennan added that "as a result we've lost a lot of growers, because they cannot afford to stay in business".

The IFA’s Senior Policy Executive also says an analysis by the association last year indicated that "food prices in 2021 were actually lower than they were in 2001 - over that 20-year period.

"In the interim a lot of retailers have used the likes of fresh produce as a loss leader and it has reduced the margin that growers receive over the long term, and that has really eroded the number of growers that we have".

She adds that "significant intervention" is needed to keep more growers in business.

Earlier this year the IFA launched a retail charter in conjunction with the horticulture industry forum, whereby six of the main retailers agreed to support the charter for horticulture.

Ms Brennan says this "means that there'd be stronger relationships between growers and retailers".

She also notes that in Ireland "we actually have very favourable conditions to grow a lot of fresh produce here … but we need to build a resilient sector".

"We build it by ensuring that growers have a sustainable margin and are able to invest in the long term.

"The drought this summer was a clear example of how we need more investment in the sector, because only 30%-35% of growers actually have sufficient irrigation in place to deal with a drought for that length of time.

"And if you look at the potato sector, that's below 20%. So, the key here is that growers have not had the margin necessary to be able to reinvest in their businesses over the last 20 years and that dial needs to change," Ms Brennan added.

Dependence on foreign producers

Ireland imports more than 80% of the fruit and vegetables consumed here.

Some of the reason for this is to be able to source varieties that cannot be grown here. However, a big contributory factor is also price.

In many cases, importing produce from elsewhere can be cheaper.

However, a changing climate might shift this landscape.

Martin Flynn says "there's definitely a lot of opportunity there" for Irish growers.

"The supply from Europe is getting a lot tighter due to climate change, due to energy costs, and as a result , he says "the opportunity will be there for the produce to be grown in Ireland and for Irish growers to scale up and grow more homegrown produce" to fill any possible supply gaps".

"The potential is there to do that if we're supported from retailers and from the Government," he says.

Meanwhile, the Vegan Society of Ireland is calling for a specific plant-based strategy to help growers and support the country’s food security.

It notes that Denmark has put €170 million behind a plant-based food fund and believes something similar would work in Ireland.

Commenting on the Danish example, Holly White, vegan chef and member of the Vegan Society of Ireland, says "they have set out a target of investing over €170 million into support and education by 2030 to basically empower farmers to grow more plant-based protein sources."

"We really do need to invest long-term in educating ourselves to changes to palates," she added.

In a statement, the Department of Agriculture said it is "incumbent on everyone in the supply chain to support Irish producers and seek out Irish produce when buying fruit and vegetables".

"Irish growers need a fair price for their produce if we are to sustain a local horticultural sector and reduce Ireland’s reliance on imports."

The statement added that the Government "provides significant supports to the Irish horticulture industry, including fruit and vegetable growers, through a range of initiatives".

The department also says the horticulture sector’s budget for 2027 has been increased to €9 million.