As all farmers brace themselves for a challenging year with unpredictable input costs, spare a thought for the fruit and vegetable sector. In 2022, they were the ones left most disadvantaged by the spike in fertiliser, fuel and energy costs. While milk and grain nearly doubled in price, Irish fruit and vegetable growers struggled to get a 10% increase in their prices.

The news that well-known vegetable grower Julian Hughes has this week sought the appointment of a provisional liquidator should warn all of us as to the precarious nature of fruit and vegetable growing. The more than 50% rise in the minimum wage over the last decade has impacted severely on a sector that has high labour costs.

No other farming sector has been as affected by the change in weather patterns caused by climate change.

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The long periods of wet weather, the lack of a frost period in some winters, the lack of sunshine as cloud constantly gathers over Irish fields, all make bringing a crop to maturity at the required time more difficult.

Fruit and vegetable growers need to have a constant supply of product for their customers. Contracts are very specific as to timing as well as quantity.

The last few months have been a nightmare for the likes of carrot and cabbage producers. It’s been almost impossible to get what is very heavy machinery into sodden fields. The carrot season has little over a month to go – as temperatures warm up, carrots will start to grow again and be unusable. One bad season can undo the progress made over a dozen better years.

For vegetable and fruit growers, price is massively important, but so is volume of sales. Producers need a margin per acre of crop grown. This requires two things in tandem – a decent price per unit, but also a high clearance of the product placed on the supermarket shelf.

Why not organise fruit and vegetables by country of origin? Oh, that would be too hard, I hear you say. But they do it for wine

As the product is perishable, it also needs to sell quickly. I think this is where retailers could really help Irish producers.

Why not organise fruit and vegetables by country of origin? Oh, that would be too hard, I hear you say. But they do it for wine.

You don’t see Chilean wine in the Italian section, or French wine among the bottles of Australian.

Continental supermarkets do the same for cheese, with national flags denoting Dutch gouda and edam, French camembert or brie, and Swiss emmental or gruyere.

So why not have Irish carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and broccoli under the green white and gold flag? It couldn’t hurt and if something doesn’t change soon, there won’t be much Irish produce to place under that flag.