Irish co-operatives involved in the food processing sector do not have the same level of investment power or flexibility as some international food processing companies, a conference in Dublin was told yesterday.

Dr Edward Cahill, Professor of Accounting at University College, Cork, told delegates at the annual conference of ICOS, the umbrella body for the Irish co-operative movement, of the differences he had discovered on examining Irish and international food processors.

He said the four larger plc/co-operative groups in Ireland have a much larger financial profile than the medium and smaller sized co-operatives.

He said, for example, Avonmore/Waterford earns a profit margin of 4 per cent whereas North Connacht Farmers earns just 1.2 per cent.

In turn, he said, there were distinct differences in "cash flow" profiles which he considered the more important indicator of performance.

"Kerry earns 11.2 per cent on turnover, compared with 4.4 per cent for Avonmore/Waterford or 6.6 per cent for Golden Vale. In contrast, NCF, Town of Monaghan, Barryroe and Newmarket are below 3 per cent," he said.

Prof Cahill said he tended to view most co-operatives in a similar light to long established family businesses. He wondered about objectivity and the closeness of people on the board of directors.

"There are usually no outsiders who could contribute from a governance perspective. I would consider it useful to have a business person or two and or a professional, say an accountant or solicitor, on the board, who might ask management a different set of questions and bring a wider set of experiences to decision-making and monitoring of performance," he concluded.