IFA President Eddie Downey has called on retailers to acknowledge the value of strawberries and other fruit grown in this country, and not use these categories as a loss leader.
“Growers have made sizeable capital investments on their farms to extend the production season which now provides fresh fruit to the Irish consumer from April right through to November," said Downey.
"While sales of fruit are growing in volume, there is ongoing concern at the decline in the value of the crop, as a result of pressure from retailers.”
Downey made the announcement last week to mark the launch of National Strawberry Week.
He added that the “IFA is actively involved in the monitoring of proper labelling of fruit both on retail shelves and in road-side sales. Only by regular monitoring and reporting of issues to the Department of Agriculture can a resolution to non-identifiable produce be achieved”.
