Food regulator seeks further powers following shortfall in egg sector data

Agri-Food Regulator seeks authority to compel the provision of price and market information from businesses in the agri-food supply chain

The Agri-Food Regulator is seeking the Government to provide it with additional powers after a number of retail business did not co-operate with it on a report into the supply of eggs.

The chairman of the Agri-Food Regulator Joe Healy said it wanted authority “to compel the provision of necessary price and market information from relevant businesses in the agri-food supply chain, in order to fulfil its price and market data analysis function”.

Mr Healy said he had written to the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to seek the additional powers.

He said the regulator considered they “are essential so that it can fulfil its functions of addressing issues of lack of transparency and information asymmetry in the agri-food supply chain” as envisaged under legislation.

The regulator said on Thursday that in line with its price and market data analysis function, it had, from March, engaged with the relevant businesses in the egg supply chain to request data impacting upon price and margins.

“It was intended that using the data supplied, and supplemented by publicly available information, the Regulator would produce a robust report about price and market data across the egg supply chain.

“However, following extensive engagement with relevant businesses, the envisaged report was not feasible due to the lack of cooperation from a number of businesses in the supply chain. Information was ultimately provided by all of the four largest egg packing businesses (Annalitten Foods, Belview Eggs, Greenfield Foods and The Nest Box Egg Company) and a number of the largest food wholesale/retail businesses in the country – BWG, Marks & Spencer Ireland, Musgrave Group, Sysco Ireland and Tesco Ireland.

" Unfortunately, and despite our efforts to date, a number of retail businesses have not provided the data requested.”

The regulator said that as a result, a report on the egg sector using only publicly available data was published on July 18th.

Mr Healy said while the Board was grateful to the businesses that provided information, it was disappointed some retailers did not.

Reporting on:irishtimes.com