DEFA Minister Clare Barber says her department is unaware of any issues with local produce which cannot find a route to market.
She was quizzed on the matter by David Ashford (Douglas North).
Responding to his question, Mrs Barber said DEFA “works closely with the industry to help support farmers find effective routes to market but is not aware of any surplus stock produced by farmers for which a route to market could not be found”.
She added: “Given that no formal reporting is undertaken, should an issue be reported, the Department would work with the producer, in conjunction with DfE, to identify barriers and opportunities and seek to provide resolution. This is an approach that has been followed in the past with success.”
Royal Potatoes
This answer follows on from the experience of Manx spud growers who earlier this year resorted to given away local (and very tasty) potatoes at the Royal Agricultural show as they were unable to find a market for them post Tesco’s takeover of Shoprite.
About five tonne of potatoes were given away at the show, before it was announced that Tesco had agreed to sell extra Manx spuds.
The Others
While Tesco has got a difficult time from locals since it took over Shoprite, Mr Ashford also asked what is being done to encourage the other outlets (looking at your Co-op and M&S) to sell Manx produce.
Mrs Barber said: “We are continually working with the local processors including the abattoir, Creamery and the Flour Mill to ensure that there is an effective local route to market for farmers in all sectors.
“There are regular and ongoing conversations with retailers such as Robinsons, Co-Op and Tesco. Some of our recent work, in partnership with DfE, has seen Tesco increase the number of lines of Manx produce available in their stores.”
DEFA also recently provided a grant to support the MNFU work investigating the ferry charges for remote islands and raised its concerns in a Tynwald committee about how transport costs are hitting producers.
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