Irish farmers face planting dilemma due to rainfall and field conditions

Ivan Curran, a prominent Meath farmer who produces a significant 11,000 tonnes of potatoes annually, is currently grappling with the challenges posed by adverse weather conditions. These conditions have severely impacted the planting season, potentially leading to considerable yield losses. Curran, whose production is crucially split between supermarkets (40%) and the Tayto factory (60%), with Roosters constituting 70% of Ireland's potato sales, faces a critical situation. This issue extends beyond Ireland, affecting Europe broadly and possibly increasing dependency on potato imports from countries like Cyprus and Egypt. The scarcity of Roosters has also forced smaller shops to source these potatoes from supermarkets due to a lack of wholesale availability.