Low food price inflation cutting into profits for Wicklow farmers and producers
Echoing IFA assertions that food prices have been suppressed for the last two decades, Ms McKenzie said that the topic comes up at all IFA meetings she attends, adding that the combination of comparatively low food price increases and rising costs to produce food has resulted in a 'worrying time within the industry'.
'Unlike other products in the Consumer Price Index, food prices haven't increased over the years, and, as farmers, we're very worried about that,' she said.
'Food hasn't gone up at the same rate as other products, 12pc over the last 15 years. But in comparison, the Consumer Price Index of other things is up 30pc, and electricity has gone up by 124pc, which is crazy.
'That makes it an uneven playing field if the price of what we produce doesn't go up at the same rate of inflation.
'We're also consumers. We go shopping and see the price of food going up. Then we look at the price we get for what we produce, and it doesn't necessarily go up, while all our costs do. The price of doing business and producing our lamb and our tillage is more and more expensive.
'It's all cutting into any kind of profit that could be made. The corn might already be in the ground, and needs to be combined, but are you combining a crop that's not worth anything by the time you get it for sale?'
Highlighting how average farm incomes were just under €36,000 in 2024, while the average weekly earnings, annualised, come to over €53,000 across other sectors, Ms McKenzie, who has agri-tourism shepherd's huts on her farm, explained how Wicklow farmers and food producers do their utmost to increase their margins through diversification.
'We're a mighty little county, and we have good tillage ground, good mountain lambs coming off the hill,' she continued.
'We're very diverse in our agricultural output, so food prices affect a broad section of the county.
'In saying all of that, I think you have to caveat that with the fact that in Wicklow, we're very good at diversifying. All of us are trying to do something else, whether that be agritourism or whatever.
'The Tinahely show is the perfect example of that great crossover of what Wicklow can produce and the extra bit that we do to push up the margins.'
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