Consumers in Ireland are likely to pay more for potatoes in the coming months as shortages are pushing prices up, the RTÉ has reported.
The price of the staple in supermarkets has already increased 17.3% compared to the previous year and further increases are expected due to the impact of bad weather on plantings and harvest, the report said.
Potato Shortage
Recent agricultural data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has unveiled that farmers were paid 74% more for potatoes in March of this year compared to the year-ago period amid shortages.
The price hike indicates low base prices last year and that the scarcity of potatoes will continue for the rest of this year, according to Sean Ryan, national potato chairperson with the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA).
"Scarcity of supply is reflected in the prices quoted... which have come off the back of unsustainable prices for the last 10 years. Current prices need to be sustained for a viable potato industry," Ryan told the RTÉ.
He highlighted that the input costs for potatoes currently on the shelf were at an all-time high when they were planted, and although high prices are being offered for potatoes now, very few growers have supplies available for sale.
He also added that most growers have not been able to benefit from the price increases as a large share of the potatoes were sold straight from fields at harvest time when prices were lower.
CSO Data
The overall prices paid to farmers for their output dropped 3.5% in the 12 months to March of this year, CSO data showed.
Cereal prices fell 31%, while milk prices were down 5% and prices for pigs fell 7.5%.
In addition to potatoes, growers received 12.8% more for vegetables and 30.2% for sheep, according to the data.
Input costs witnessed a significant decline of 15.3% in the 12 months to March, with fertiliser, feed, and energy prices declining 39.9%, 16.7%, and 5.3%, respectively.
