The Agri-Food Regulator has written to the agriculture minister seeking additional powers to allow it to compel businesses in the agri-food supply to chain to provide price and market information to it.
Chairperson of the board of the regulator, Joe Healy, said the powers were needed in order to allow it to fulfil its price and market data analysis function.
It follows an attempt by the regulator to extract data impacting on price and margins from businesses in the egg supply chain.
The regulatory planned to use the information, coupled with publicly available data, to produce report about price and market data across the egg supply chain.
But the regulator subsequently found that the report was no feasible because a number of firms in the supply chain failed to cooperate.
It said the four largest egg packing businesses, Annalitten Foods, Belview Eggs, Greenfield Foods and The Nest Box Egg Company, did provide information that was sought.
A number of biggest food wholesale or retail companies here, including BWG, Marks & Spencer Ireland, Musgrave Group, Sysco Ireland and Tesco Ireland, also cooperated.
But a number of retail businesses did not provide the requested information, the regulator said.
This meant that the report it published in mid July only contained publicly available data.
"While the Board is grateful to the businesses that provided information to the regulator, we are disappointed that some retail businesses did not see fit to provide the requested data with a view to improving transparency," Mr Healy said.
Mr Healy said the board has prepared a report and communicated it to the minister, seeking additional powers.
"The regulator considers that these additional powers 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 the 2023 Act," he said.
Under the act, the board was required to report to the minister within a year of its establishment about its ability to acquire data.
The regulator has responsibility for providing market analysis and transparency on business relationships between farmers, processors and powerful multiples who buy their produce, and with stopping unfair trading practices.
For many years farmers and small food producers have complained the prices they are often paid are inadequate for them to make a living and undervalue their produce.
Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association president, Sean McNamara, called for the regulator to be granted additional powers.
"We in ICSA are concerned that the existing laws may not be strong enough to ensure the level of transparency needed throughout the food chain," he said.
