asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether he will take steps to amend the Restrictive Practices (Groceries) Order 1987 to bring potatoes within the scope of the Order.
Written Answers. - Potato Prices.
36.
The Restrictive Practices Commission in their report of the Review of the Restrictive Practives (Groceries) Order, 1981, recommended that below cost selling should be prohibited. However, they recommended that those grocery goods particularly liable to deterioration such as fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish be excluded from the scope of the order. I accepted this recommendations and the order was drafted on this basis.
I signed the order on 25 May 1987 and it came into effect on 11 December 1987 after confirmation by an Act of the Oireachtas. In recognition of the fact that the imposition of a ban on below cost selling in this sector was seen by many as a major interference in the market place I decided that it should be reviewed after it had been in operation for one year. The order will be due for review at the end of the year and the question, inter alia, of including potatoes within the scope of the order will be examined in detail as part of this review. It is not envisaged that any changes will be made to the order prior to the conclusion of this review.