Firstly, I would like to say that I welcome this Bill proposing the registration of potato growers and potato packers. I feel it is appropriate to compliment the Minister of State for the untiring work he has put into the compilation of this Bill. It is not today or yesterday he has addressed himself to what was a very obvious need but yet one that did not get attention until recently. I know the Minister of State has been concerned about this for some years, and since his appointment he has been very active in relation to this matter.
As the Minister of State said yesterday, essentially the objective of this Bill is to co-ordinate the efforts in the whole area of potato production, processing and marketing. There is need to include in that whole co-ordination process the position of individual producers, those who assemble potatoes, merchants and any others concerned directly or indirectly with the industry. This is essentially the core of the Bill, and it is something that is to be lauded very much as we set about to co-ordinate the effort in the levels of production, processing, marketing and also to co-ordinate very clearly and very precisely the functions and the involvements of the persons concerned.
One point that needs to be stated and was referred to yesterday by a speaker is the standards of our potatoes. It is only fair to place on the record that the standards of our potatoes are extremely high in many instances but they are not identifiable. They are not on record, and lack of registration is one of the reasons that leads us to believe that standards are not as good as they actually are. At present there is an obvious need to do something, as the Bill proposes, in the area of storing, packing and grading of potatoes. There is little point in having a good product if that particular product is not packaged well and stored well. One finishes up with a very deteriorated product if the area of packing and storage is not attended to very carefully.
The Minister of State indicated that surveys had revealed that 50 per cent of potatoes have not adequate storage facilities, that is at least on a long term basis, and it is the long term basis that counts. This obviously leads to very serious wastage. Unfortunately we have in the potato industry, as we have in many facets of agriculture, a major fluctuation of production. This causes problems and demands that we have a positive and very definite programme to combat that fluctuation. In one year we can have massive supplies and massive returns of potatoes which will sell in the market at very poor prices while other years we will have short supply situations and very high prices obtaining. That happens from year to year but unfortunately a similar situation can happen within a season. It is a positive argument why we need the degree of organisation that is inherent in this Bill, which I hope will get the full support of this House.
Senator Hussey referred to the importation of potatoes. I subscribe to the idea that we must cease to be importers of potatoes and strive to be exporters of that crop which we can so ably produce. In 1982 we imported £25 million, in 1983, it was £17 million and in 1984 the estimate is £27 million to £28 million. These figures are excessive, unwarranted, and they are figures we should not have for potato imports. It is a crop we can produce well having regard to the suitability of our soil and climate. There is no reason why those figures should apply.
EC membership brings with it free trade in the area of potato sales. We must be geared for those situations and must be conscious of that factor. Until 1980 we were protected from open competition. We must recognise that. This is best done by producing the right article, packaging it and presenting it well. Poor quality potatoes militate against doing something positive. We must take a hard look at varieties of potatoes and examine the varieties that package well, store well and can be presented well. We have plenty of knowledge not alone in the area of potatoes but in other products too that an article that looks well will appeal to the customer and will sell well.
We have not addressed ourselves in any serious fashion to have meaningful research done into consumer taste. This applies to consumers of all goods. It applies very definitely to potato consumers. We do not have to set up grandiose new organisations for this purpose. We have the agencies in the institute, ACOT, the Department of Agriculture and other agencies. Their resources should be harnessed and they should be given a direction to go out to the market place and find out what type of potatoes the consumer wants. The same would apply with other products. In the case of potatoes, which we are concerned with this morning, this needs to be done.
We should strive to produce what the market wants rather than what we have been doing so far, trying to market what we produce. I emphasise "trying to market". We have set about marketing whatever was there. The day has come when we must make certain that what we are marketing is something that is produced in the knowledge that there is a demand for the product. That could not be over-emphasised. We must never attempt to take any aspect of potato production in isolation. We must consider the entire scenario from the producing side to the time the actual potato or in its processed form reaches the consumer. Any reorganisation, recognising that we can produce the potatoes, must be done on a commercial basis. There is no point in doing this on any other basis because it will not have any results.
There are a few areas that need to be emphasised. Grading is very high on the list. If we do not have proper grading of potatoes we will not get anywhere. One should emphasise strongly the question of presentation. We are not good at this. We must present the article well. Producing the article and packaging it well is very important, but if we fail to present it well a lot will have been lost. I have already referred to varieties. There is an amount of work to be done to make certain that we have the varieties that meet the requirements of the people.
We have the co-operative society which was formed in conjunction with the Irish Farmers Association and the ICOS. There are 12 co-operative societies within that framework. It is a very positive, progressive move where not alone have we proposals before us but there is something positive on the ground. It will bring about very radical changes. There are FEOGA grants to assist in the development of this.
The Bill stipulates that those who grow ware potatoes and package them must be registered. There would then be available a clear and true record of potato producers. Eighty-five per cent of potato packers are also potato producers. The overall framework of the new development must be kept right. There is no room for weak links in the chain. I am confident that under the direction of the Minister, Deputy Hegarty and his Department this plan can and will succeed but the overall framework must be kept right. Over the last number of years the level of production of potatoes has changed dramatically. Over the last 45 years or so the area of production reduced from roughly 140,000 hectares to approximately 45,000 hectares. That is a dramatic reduction, in a comparatively short time. At a time when we need very positively to develop the agricultural industry, that decline must not be allowed to proceed any further.
As I have said, not alone must we eliminate imports of potatoes but we must set about becoming significant exporters of this crop and, in the process, relieve significantly the balance of payments deficit which at present is of serious consequence.
Potatoes are part of the total food import bill of £800 million which has been so often referred to in this House and in other places. A sizeable proportion of this can be replaced by home produced products. The figure £300 million, has been freely used. That amount of total replacement can be obtained right across the board in human and animal foodstuffs. This would be a major alleviation of our balance of payments problems and would provide enormous additional employment. I am convinced that that area, which has been referred to in recent times by the Minister must be explored. We must not leave any stone unturned.
In the potato area very obviously improvements can be made but horticulture and production of animal feed and the entire food industry can be revamped to the degree where we produce at home what we are at present in fact, importing. It is economically very unhealthy that we have this huge food bill, that we continue to talk about it but unfortunately so far we as a nation have not found it possible to do anything positive about replacing substantially the massive imports of about £300 million per year.
There is the question of added value. We must ensure that production is nationally beneficial. I appreciate that there are occasions where the economic benefit of the country and of the individual may conflict. Diversification must be examined very closely in regard to potatoes. The same, indeed, would apply to all other food that we produce here. It would apply to beef, our dairying products and so on. Added value must be a central part of any sort of future plan.
In a free and open market competition we are importing potatoes from Holland, Cyprus and other countries. We must make sure that the standard of the imported product is right. There is no point in our insisting and correctly so, on standards for the home product if we allow inferior goods to be dumped on the Irish home market. We must demand the highest standards possible for imports. I am confident that if we do our job right we will not have imports. In the eventuality that we have imports standards should be applied to them. Vis-à-vis potato production, we have a suitable climate and outstandingly good seed, good research facilities and very good advice are available to growers. A combination of all these factors will give results.
Reference was made by the Minister yesterday to the fact that the demand for this type of reorganisation of the potato industry came from the ground. That is essentially true. The Minister was being a bit modest in making that comment, because I believe that a lot of the initiative was taken by himself. I do not think that it happened spontaneously from the ground. Things do not happen the way they are thought to happen. It is true to say that it will make the operation of this registration programme more workable and more possible that there was positive initiative from the ground which the Minister picked up, took on board and brought to finality.
We must be sure that the product at all times looks well — and I underline "at all times". There is no point in having a sporadic show of appearance; it must look well at all times. The taste must be correct. If it is not correct on a limited number of occasions it is a serious matter. Above all else the keeping quality of the potato, the storing ability, must be good. I have mentioned the entire food industry and I do not want to elaborate further because we are dealing specifically with the registration of potato growers and related factors.
This Bill will do a great deal for the Irish agricultural scene and particularly for the Irish potato grower and indeed, also for the Irish potato consumer.