asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism if, in view of the tightening cost-price squeeze in agriculture, he will request the National Prices Commission to devote special attention to the costs of agricultural inputs.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Agricultural Input Costs.
30.
The Central Statistics Office compile and publish an agricultural price input index on a monthly and annual basis.
Fertilisers and feeding stuffs are the main constituent elements of the index. The prices of both of these commodities are subject to comprehensive monitoring on a continous basis by the National Prices Commission. Other items included in the index are also subject to control.
Will the Minister ask the National Prices Commission, in view of the fact that this year farmers face increases in prices of their inputs of the range of 25 per cent and the fact that their real incomes for this year, taking interest payments into account, will fall by 25 per cent, to have another look at the system of monitoring which applies with a view to the introduction of detailed price control, if necessary?
The monitoring system is kept constantly under review but it is worth pointing out that the present system was introduced in 1973 primarily as a result of requests from the farming organisations to discontinue strict or detailed price control. The view of the organisations was that strict price control had the effect of eliminating competition in the field of feedstuffs and also in terms of fertilisers. In fact, the consuming farmer, they felt, would be better off without strict control. That view appears to have been borne out by experience since. The monitoring does not indicate that the price levels being charged for these commodities are now any higher than they would be if the older type of strict control had been continued in respect of them.
I agree with the Minister's general proposition, having allowed it to continue for two years when I was responsible in that area. Will the Minister consider the special consideration arising as a result of 1979 and ask the commission to have another look at this to see if it would be possible to introduce an improvement in the monitoring system?
I will ask the commission whether they feel changes are needed. If they think they are they are at liberty to make them as far as I am concerned.
(Cavan-Monaghan): Is the Minister aware that the pig industry is going through a very difficult period and that one of the causes of that situation is the dramatic increase in the price of pig feed? While the Minister's statement about the history of control and decontrol is correct I should like to know if the Minister is aware that there appears to be second thinking on this subject and that it is felt it would be better to have animal feed controlled and not allowed to fluctuate on the market?
I am aware that there are difficulties in the pig producing industry and I will ask the commission to consider whether the introduction of control on pig feedstuffs would be of any benefit. It is only fair to say that on the face of it it seems unlikely that it would because if the commission felt that there was any undue profiteering or lack of competition among those selling these feedstuffs they would have advised me by now to reintroduce the older form of control.
(Cavan-Monaghan): The pig industry seems to be getting a bad squeezing between high interest rates on the one hand and the cost of pig feeding on the other. Will the Minister have the matter investigated?