I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue, which is particularly relevant to my constituency in view of the loss of 90 jobs following the closure of Co-operative Poultry Products Limited, Cootehill, two weeks ago. This was a major blow to Cootehill and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the increased price of feedstuff and the difficulty in obtaining a fair price from the supermarket chains were major contributing factors in the difficulties facing the company. One of the main problems facing the pig and poultry industries is the increasing cost of feedstuff and their inability to secure an increased market price for their product from supermarkets to reflect the increased cost of production.
The issue of primary producers getting a fair price for their product is a long-running matter. The programme for Government contains a specific commitment to enact legislation to regulate certain practices in the grocery goods sector. The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Richard Bruton, intends to give effect to this commitment through legislation, which will allow for the introduction of a statutory code of practice in the grocery goods sector to provide some protection to primary producers. While I appreciate work is under way, it is vital it is treated as a matter of urgency since the entire poultry and pig industries are at risk. I ask the Minister of State for any assistance she can give to progress the matter as quickly as possible.
It is clear that, over recent years, the retail industry has been controlled by a very small number of multinationals. They are creaming off an unjust percentage of the retail price and using cheap poultry and pigmeat as loss leaders. Other issues of great concern are the level of cheap imports, which is killing the Irish trade, and the amount of loose chicken being imported from countries such as Brazil and Thailand which is available on butcher and supermarket counters.
I put down a parliamentary question some months ago and it was alarming to discover that poultry meat imports into Ireland have increased from 49,133 tonnes in 2002 to 85,361 tonnes in 2011. This is an increase of 74% in the amount of poultry meat imported into Ireland. Imports from Brazil have increased from 1,165 tonnes in 2002 to 4,022 tonnes in 2011, an increase of 245%. Imports from Thailand show an increase of 472% from 1,227 tonnes to 7,029 tonnes in 2011.
Speaking as a housewife who does look at the country of origin when doing my weekly shopping, I never see any labels that say produced in either Brazil or Thailand. We need to address this issue so Irish consumers know exactly what they are eating and where the food is coming from. Can the Minister guarantee that the chickens produced in Brazil or Thailand are produced under the same strict guidelines as those produced in Ireland, and is the slaughter line manned by veterinary staff as happens in Ireland?
There is a huge amount of imported chicken going into the catering industry, and the Irish consumer is unaware of this fact. Unless it clearly states it is Irish produce most of the chicken we are consuming in restaurants, in fast food outlets, and sourcing from butchers is not Irish, and consumers are not aware of this.
The issue of labelling needs to be urgently addressed and the following information should be provided on all chicken and pork products that appear on Irish supermarket shelves: the name of the country where the animal or chicken is born; the name of country where it is reared or fattened; and the name of country where it is slaughtered. We need urgently to pass legislation on country of origin labelling that will allow the consumer to make an informed choice when purchasing meats. We also need to ensure the catering industry provides information to customers on where the meat they are consuming is being sourced.
