Jan 14th, 2010

Cahill calls on Teagasc to follow the logic of their own 'Outlook 2010' report

Commenting on the figures and analysis contained in the Teagasc 'Outlook 2010', the ICMSA President, Jackie Cahill, said that the catastrophic collapse of dairy farmer margins and the level of their personal debt was now set out for all to see. But Mr Cahill was also critical of what he described as Teagasc's inability to follow their own logic and cease supporting the expansion of production that was main factor behind the mismatch between European supply and demand and the price collapse. It was not enough to blandly state, as the Teagasc did, that 'the existence of relatively high levels of dairy stocks and uncertainty about the timing of their disposal complicates the forecast of milk prices and dairy farm margins'. Mr Cahill pointed out that that uncertainty could not be helped by increasing the supply of dairy products going to market in a still very fragile global economic environment. He said that Teagasc and others must stop being so passive about employing those policy tools that could at least help restore some degree of stability and growth to dairy margins. Accordingly, he repeated his public call on Minister Smith to draw the appropriate conclusions from the Teagasc Report and swing his support behind a supply-management system that will match EU dairy production to demand and end the headless, free-for-all, deregulated disaster that had effectively wiped out the Irish dairy sector. If this was labelled a policy U-turn then that could not be helped. It was the only viable policy to restore dairy farm margin

Ends.     14 January 2010

Jackie Cahill, 087-2820663

President, ICMSA

Or

 Cathal MacCarthy, 087-6168758 or061-314677

ICMSA Press Office

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