FARM INCOMES will drop by 30.3 per cent in 2009, according to an advance estimate from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday. The Irish Farmers’ Association said it was the worst figure since Ireland joined the EEC in 1973.
The CSO reported that the output from the traditionally profitable dairy and cereals sectors fell almost 35 per cent or €567 million, due mainly to a fall in milk prices, and cereal output fell by 52 per cent or €104 million.
It also estimated the value of cattle output fell by 10.7 per cent or €179 million, pigs by 12.6 per cent or €42 million, while the value of fertilizers decreased by 18 per cent or €91 million.
The CSO said the figures were provisional and did not include losses likely to arise from the recent severe flooding.
The figures showed the operating surplus for this year will be €1.62 billion compared to €2.32 billion in 2008, which was 10.9 per cent lower than the surplus of €2.60 billion in 2007. The figures do not include the net subsidies which farmers will receive this year of €1.89 billion. Farmers received €1.91 billion in EU and national subsidies last year.
IFA president Pádraig Walshe said the figures confirmed a collapse in farm incomes this year due to poor commodity prices.
He said Government cuts, the weakness of sterling and the dreadful weather during the year also had an impact. Farmers were continuing to subsidise food prices which had not dropped accordingly because of the power of retailers.
“The CSO figures mirror the preliminary estimate carried out by IFA two weeks ago and confirm the devastating year for farm families as prices fell across all sectors.
“Coming on top of an income drop of 11 per cent in 2008, this represents the worst income crisis for the sector since Ireland joined the EEC in 1973,” he said.
“The stark reality is that average farm income is now at €13,000 and €16,000 for full-time farmers. The Government proposal to close Reps [the Rural Environment Protection Scheme] is simply not a runner as it will collapse the already dire incomes of at least 20,000 drystock farmers and leave them with incomes below €10,000.
“The agriculture minister Brendan Smith must reflect the dreadful income situation in farming at Cabinet and deliver a properly funded Reps scheme for farmers leaving Reps 2 and 3.”
He criticised the Green Party proposal to impose a carbon tax on farmers which would increase their costs by €17.5 million because they had to use diesel.
However, Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith said commodity prices had fallen very significantly and the global economic turmoil had added to that difficulty, with consumers worldwide buying cheaper products. “The weakness of sterling, the third bad summer in a row, all of these have been contributory factors, but naturally the major contributory factor has been the poor price for commodity products,” he said.