Irish Dairy Farmers staged a "Milking Protest" at Government Buildings in Dublin

About 100 members of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) have protested outside Government Buildings in Dublin this afternoon over the price they are being paid for their milk.

The dairy farmers used mobile equipment to milk five cows in front of the Taoiseach's office to highlight their difficulties.

ICMSA leader Jackie Cahill said "it is not possible to exaggerate the crisis in the Irish dairy industry" and that there seems to be "a denial of the facts at government level".

Brendan Smith, TD stated that he is "aware of the difficulties". And one would indeed hope so, as he is after all the current Minister for Agriculture.

He said that for many months he has been "demanding special measures at European level, including intervention storage and export refunds", and that he "will be seeking further help next week in Brussels".

But as nice as this might sound, it is just lip-service and no help for the Irish dairy farmers.

What the Irish farmers need is a fair price for their products. And this is not decided by EU officials in Brussels, but by the buyers of the supermarket chains in Ireland. They are the ones who have squeezed the farmers over years and pushed down the prices they pay them for milk At the same time there is no reduction of the prices that Irish consumers have to pay for milk in supermarkets and other shops. The difference is pocketed by the retailers, and if the farmers are seeking a solution for their problem, then they should address it to the right people.

The Emerald Islander

Shopping as it should be

Being a single man, living with a cat as my only companion, I do all the cooking and household chores that many other men have done for them by a woman. But I am not complaining. In fact, I like cooking and see it as one of the creative arts.

I also like to go shopping for groceries, which has of course to come before I can start cooking. And unlike many women I see in the supermarkets each week, filling their trolleys thoughtless and senseless with piles of expensive and unhealthy items of processed food, I am a discerning and selective shopper. I am also very price-conscious, a trait I have inherited from my mother.

So when I go shopping, I always look out for bargains or special offers, and in general I seek good value for my money. This does not mean that I always buy the cheapest items. Good value for money means getting quality for a fair price. As Ireland is quite an expensive country, with most things costing about twice as much as they cost in most other EU countries, it is worth to shop around.

Over the years I have developed personal shopping habits, buying a range of particular items in various shops, depending on quality and price. For my normal weekly grocery shopping I usually frequent three different local supermarkets (two Irish-owned and one foreign) and one small Polish shop that has opened here a few months ago and stocks certain continental delicacies one would not find in Irish shops or supermarkets.

One of the Irish supermarkets I use regularly is SuperValu, a chain of franchised stores under the umbrella of the Cork-based Musgrave Group. It is located in a small shopping centre, only a short walk from my house, and offers a wide range of quality food at fair prices.
The same also applies to the other two supermarkets I frequent, so I always decide carefully what I buy in one or in the others.

What makes SuperValu stand out from their competitors in recent weeks and months is their pro-active response to our current recession.

For the past nine months the Irish economy has not only seen a massive downturn in the wake of the global financial crisis, it has actually crashed and created widespread economic stagnation and the highest rate of unemployment this country has seen for decades.
Our current government, which is chiefly responsible for the terrible mess we are in, has no idea how to lead us out of it again. Facing a huge budget deficit - due to a drastic fall in tax revenue - Finance Minister Brian Lenihan just raises taxes all over the place and imposes extra levies on all those who still have a job. This gives him some extra money on the short-term, but it means of course that most people in Ireland have now less money in their pockets.
Subsequently everyone is tightening the proverbial belt and tries to spend less. And this has of course a direct and significant impact on all Irish shops and businesses.

People still need to eat, to wash their clothes and to clean their houses, but supermarkets and shops feel already the pinch of the nation's reduced spending power.
Some grocery shops just carry on as usual, hoping that people might still buy their products at the normal prices and make their personal spending cuts elsewhere. But the major supermarket chains are beginning to wake up and present their customers with ever more bargains and special offers.

This is a very welcome development and can only be further encouraged.

And though all supermarkets are making efforts now to retain their regular customers and gain new ones as well, the one that stands out from the rest and truly deserves a special mention is SuperValu.

Like most supermarkets, they always have - and had for years - special offers and promotions, usually on a weekly basis. But now SuperValu is going even a step further and offers special deals I have not seen anywhere else.
They actually give away certain food items for free, usually in very lucrative combination offers that are particularly suitable for families.

In recent weeks they offered nice cuts of Irish round roast (beef) at half of the normal price, and for every piece of meat one bought, one got either a small bag of potatoes, a bag of carrots, or a net of onions thrown in free of charge.

This is - in my humble opinion - the right attitude towards loyal customers and a proper and sensible reaction to the current recession and the general shortage of money in people's pockets. Or, to say it with SuperValu's own motto: Shopping as it should be.

When I went there yesterday and saw the week's specials, my heart actually leapt in joy. There were large bags of Irish apples and punnets with clementines, strawberries and blueberries on offer, and all of them for just € 1 each! There were also some other items available for the great price of € 1, including a pound of butter, a large bag of potato crisps (which I don't eat, although they are very popular in Ireland) and a litre block of vanilla ice cream.

I bought plenty of the fruit and went home with a heavy bag, but had actually spent less money than I would normally spend on a Friday. And I think that such commendable action by an Irish retailer deserves to be mentioned to the readers of this weblog.

I also obtained a brochure with special offers for next week, and they are again very attractive, but too many to mention them all here. However, let me tell you that they include sirloin steaks at half of the normal price, with a bag of chips thrown in free of charge for every purchase. So, if you want to treat yourself to a traditional Irish dinner of steak & chips, next week (May 25th - 30th) is the time to go shopping at SuperValu.

The Emerald Islander


P.S. To avoid any misunderstandings, I should mention here that I received no payment or compensation in kind for the article above. I wrote the piece because I think that in hard times, when money is tight and everyone is trying to make ends meet, one should know who cares for the needs of the nation. And when I see good deeds done, I like to share them with my readers, in the same way as I will always expose those who are trying to exploit or overcharge us.

188 Croke Parks of new Retail Space

A new consultancy study has found that retail floor space in Ireland has almost quadrupled over the past five years.
The report, commissioned by the independent retailers' group RGDATA, also predicts a further growth and expects that shopping centre and retail warehouse space will grow by another 40% in the coming years.

The study, compiled by MacCabe, Durney & Barnes Consulting, shows that retail space in the Republic of Ireland has grown during the past five years from 400,000 sq.m to 1.5 million sq.m.
"This would be enough space to create 188 stadiums the size of Croke Park," a GAA fan among the consultants remarked.

As a major reason for this massive growth in shopping and warehouse space the consultants identified the expansion of the two German supermarket chains Aldi and Lidl into Ireland. They have opened 135 new stores in the country since 2000, providing not only many new jobs, but bringing for the first time in decades real competition - and thus greater choice and lower prices - to the Irish retail market.

In comparison, the British supermarket giant Tesco, which is losing market shares in Ireland in recent years, has opened only 22 new stores here since 1997.

The Emerald Islander

Inflation rises to 4.8%

The newest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in Dublin show that the annual rate of inflation in the Republic of Ireland has risen to 4.8% in February, from 4.3% the previous month. Consumer prices in February rose by 1.2% in the month, compared with a rise of 0.8% the same time last year. Inflation last stood at 4.8% in October of last year.

According to the CSO the rise is mainly a result of the continuing increases in food prices, which I already observed and wrote about two weeks ago. (see my entry "Irish Food Prices are rising too fast" of February 28th)
Prices for food are rising indeed, on average by 1.8%, with significantly higher prices seen in a wide range of products, including milk, butter, cheese, meat, bread and cereals.

Many of the most significant increases are only possible because many consumers with secure incomes seem to be willing to pay any price for food. Would they draw a line for certain items and shop around a bit, they would not only save a lot of money, but also force greedy grocers and supermarkets to re-adjust their prices to the true market value. Prices as they are charged here in Ireland would lead to riots in France and many other EU countries.

The ending of the January sales might also have had some influence on the rise of the inflation rate. The CSO says that the annual rate of inflation for services was 5.6% last month, while goods increased by 3.9% in the year.

The prices of clothing and footwear rose by 12.7%, due to a recovery in prices after the ending of the traditional January sales. Furnishings and household equipment prices also rose by 2.8% after the sales.

Last month also saw increases in average mortgage interest repayments and rents.

The Emerald Islander

Irish Food Prices are rising too fast

A survey of Ireland's top supermarkets has revealed little price difference between Dunnes Stores and Tesco. The National Consumer Agency commissioned the survey to measure the impact of the Groceries Act. They found that in a basket of 61 goods purchased at Dunnes Stores and Tesco there was only a 35 cents price difference between both.

However the survey found that Super Valu is providing real competition to Dunnes Stores and Tesco. The survey also indicates that the most competitive pricing in the retail sector exists between discount stores Aldi and Lidl.

What the agency does not mention in the report is the fact that the prices for food and other groceries in Ireland have risen massively during the past year and keep rising still. I am sure you have noticed that yourself if you do the regular shopping for your household.
I don't want to make long lists of prices here, even though I could. But that would be boring. Let me just give you a few examples of the constant and galloping inflation the current government presides over. Last year a normal pound of Irish butter was € 1.42 in most supermarkets. In the Autumn of 2007 this price rose in one step to € 1.76 (an increase of 24%), and a few weeks ago it rose again to now € 1.89 (which is another 7.5% extra). So in less than a year the price for an ordinary pound of butter - something most of use every day - has actually risen by more than a third!

Strangely enough, I have heard no one complaining yet. People moan about the high petrol prices, yes, but they are - unfortunately - set mainly elsewhere (even though the government puts a hefty portion of tax on it as well). Butter is a homemade product. And even though almost everything gets dearer all the time, nothing does justify a price rise of 33% on such a basic consumer product.
And butter is - as I said - only one very prominent example in a long line. Literally everything is getting more and more expensive, without any added value to the goods and products. And the worst sector is indeed food, the one thing we all need to survive.

While the shops and supermarkets are bad enough, it gets worse when one makes the mistake to eat out. An evening meal that used to cost me around € 20 some time ago is now priced at € 35, which is a rise of 75% in less than two years. Last week I met a friend in a local bistro for a chat. We shared a pot of tea for two, had a bowl of the "soup of the day" with a slice of brown bread, and my friend also had a slice of apple tart as dessert. How much do you think this very simple meal is worth? And how much should it cost? Well, I paid € 24.85 for that and really felt ripped-off in a very bad way. Not so long ago you would have paid with a tenner for that, and received some change back. I will certainly not go back to that bistro, but unfortunately these days the prices are very similar in all of the places one can go to.

So why is all this happening to us? It is not a result of a world crisis, nor anything the EU is forcing upon us - God forbid! No, this is an entirely home-made inflation problem, proudly sporting the "Guaranteed Irish" label. It is born out of the marriage between traditional Irish greed and the recent economic boom that befell us, commonly referred to as the "Celtic Tiger".
Having been poor, neglected and ignored backwoods people on the furthest outlet of Europe, we grabbed with both hands every single Euro we could get hold of. Many have made good and are now basking in wealth and sunshine (somewhere further south, where they bought a second home). But the "Celtic Tiger" has by-passed whole areas of the country, and a significant portion of the population has never been touched by luck, nor have they touched the magic pot of gold the tiger brought along.

These are mainly the old and sick, unemployed, disabled and otherwise deprived people. They live almost on a different planet now and would be shocked if they ever set foot into Dublin 4. But they are also the hardest hit by the enormous inflation, and especially the totally unreasonable increase in prices for food and basic commodities, such as electricity, coal, peat brickets and public transport (as only a small percentage of the poor have free travel passes). It might come as a surprise or even a shock to some of you, but there are meanwhile - once again - people in Ireland who can barely afford the basic items of living. In one of the now richest countries on Earth they struggle to survive, especially due to the prices for food, which are clearly out of control in Ireland. (In comparison, almost everywhere in Western Europe food costs are about half of what they are in Ireland, and in Eastern Europe even lower than that.)

The National Consumer Agency's survey results from small independent butchers and from fruit and vegetable retailers indicate significant price differentials, but no such price difference is found in larger supermarket chains (as they watch each other like hawks, if they don't even rig prices at times). The Agency says that consumers can drive competition by shopping around, and I wholeheartedly agree. It is the only way ordinary people can move things. If something is too expensive or not worth the price asked for, just don't buy it. You might find it cheaper elsewhere, and over time prices will and do come down when shops realise that the level charged is too high and turnover is down. It is all very simple, the basic rule of supply and demand, combined with the willingness to pay a certain price or not.

Ireland has already become a rip-off society, which also hampers tourism, which is still an important source ot income on the island. If we - the consumers - don't make a stand every day we go shopping, it will get worse and worse, to the point that we could well fall back into a real economic crisis. I am sure that no one wants this to happen.

The Emerald Islander