Investment in food industry can create 16,000 jobs -- IFA
John Horgan, chief executive of Kepak, looks on as Kerry Group CEO Stan McCarthy answers questions from delegates at the IFA forum.
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Wednesday November 04 2009
THE leading lights of the Irish food and agribusiness yesterday railed against the Government's failure to support their industry and vowed to present political leaders with a "plan of action" to put food and agribusiness at the centre of Ireland's recovery.
The comments came at a forum organised by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) in Dublin yesterday, modelled on the recent Farmleigh conference on economic recovery. The event was attended by more than 700 delegates including the heads of Kerry Group, Glanbia, Aryzta, and Origin Enterprises.
IFA president Padraig Walshe refuted suggestions that food was a "sunset industry", insisting it was a proven "world-class performer" with export earnings of €8bn every year.
Jobs
"Government seem intent on confining the 'smart economy' to areas where we have little track record," he told a rapt audience. "The 'smart' thing to do is to invest in the farming and agrifood industry."
Mr Walshe added that IFA figures show exports could grow by €2bn and an additional 16,000 jobs could be introduced "if the right environment is created".
Aryzta boss Owen Killian continued the theme, insisting "the opportunities in agribusiness are better today than at any time in the last 50 years".
The forum heard calls for government support in a range of areas including credit insurance, measures to mitigate against a weaker sterling, and the alleviation of carbon tax. AndGlanbia's John Maloney claimed that milk production could increase by 50pc over the next decade once the quotas were removed -- and if both the industry and Government were committed to the goal.
Commitment from the industry side involves consolidation in disparate production systems, particularly in the winter months.
Mr Maloney has been a long-term proponent of that consolidation, but Kerry boss Stan McCarthy yesterday expressed reservations.
"It's not as if we can all just hold hands and sing kumbaya and come together and it'll work, there's a lot of money needed for this to happen," he said. Mr McCarthy added that while "issues like this are best dealt with in the good times" it wasn't "too late" for the industry to tackle consolidation.
The Irish Management Institute has been commissioned to prepare an "action plan" from yesterday's discussions, which the IFA will then present to the Government.
Mr McCarthy said: "It's very clear that food and agriculture has its place in the recovery and can contribute."
- Laura Noonan and Declan O'Brien
Irish Independent
