Multiples in the Irish Republic have been accused of “daylight robbery” in the discounted prices they pay producers, and the new president of the Irish Farmers’ Association has warned of widespread protests if returns are not improved.

In his first address as leader of the 87,000-member IFA, John Bryan, who was elected in a landslide, announced that he planned to meet supermarket bosses in Ireland and Britain to press for better prices.

“We have to sit across the table from them and do some strong talking,” he said. But he warned that if negotiations failed, the IFA would harness its members in protests across the Republic to secure a better deal.

The 51-year-old Bryan, who has a formidable reputation as a negotiator, claimed that last year supermarkets had engaged in “a vicious war for market share that decimated the incomes of primary producers”. He cited the plight of potato growers and said discounting was being done at the expense of producers, while big companies protected their margins and boosted corporate profits.

“This is daylight robbery and an affront to any fair sense of corporate responsibility,” he declared. “This corporate greed and contempt for the men and women who produce our food must be addressed. The fact is that since the recession started, everyone has reduced their margins except the supermarkets.”

He called on politicians, at home and in Europe, to rebalance the food marketing chain, through legislation if necessary, to ensure that farm families could get a viable income from the marketplace. Such families, he warned, could not continue to produce food at below cost.

A few years ago, Bryan travelled to Brazil, posing as a tourist, and prepared a report on irregularities in the country’s beef production, which led to the EU restricting Brazilian imports, which were depressing prices for Irish producers. Now members are confident he can repeat that success in his battle with the multiples.

However, his first official task was to lead an IFA team in talks with agriculture minister Brendan Smith on a rescue package for the distressed potato sector. According to Thomas Carpenter, chair of the IFA potato committee, the losses suffered through a combination of floods and frost are estimated at €20 million (£17.7m). He said the minister was sympathetic to the growers’ plight and he expected that financial aid would be provided.

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