The existence of agri-business cartels which control food prices in the Republic means there is little sympathy for farmers among Irish consumers, a spokesman for the Consumers' Association of Ireland said last night.
"A Prime Time programme just before Christmas, for which I have the raw data, proved conclusively that there is a price-fixing cartel at the heart and lungs of the dairy industry," said Mr Eddie Hobbes, the CAI's director.
A number of co-operatives controlled the cartel-based industry, he said, in which many large farmers held interests. And the cartel operated for everyone: "Farmers don't compete. The co-ops don't compete."
There had been minimal response from the farmers' organisations to the RTÉ programme, said the CAI director. For the ICMSA to maintain, as it did, that milk was being sold at a competitive price for consumers was irrelevant: "What's relevant is that there is a cartel in operation."
The beef sector was similar, he added. "Only until such time as the farming organisations are prepared to take the courage into their hands and destroy the cartel situation will they deserve some sympathy from consumers."