Edwin Poots hits out at big firms for ‘exploiting’ cost-of-living crisis

Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots, who today warned in a statement about the knock-on impact on food prices of rising costs for producers, took a swipe at “large companies” posting huge profits during a radio interview this morning.

Mr Poots also singled out supermarkets for particular criticism as he accused them of charging 20p more for a litre of fuel than smaller, independent retailers.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, the former DUP leader said: “Some of the large companies [are] basically ripping people off whenever they’re on their knees. Whenever we see profits rising for all these energy companies — sometimes by 500% — whenever we see supermarkets charging more than 20p per litre for fuel than your local filling station, that is big companies exploiting the cost-of-living crisis and doing more harm to the people who are suffering most.”

He continued: “Can they give a valid reason why their petrol and diesel, for example, is 20p per litre more expensive than it is in a small filling station two miles away?”

The latest figures from the Northern Ireland Consumer Council, meanwhile, show that prices for home heating oil appear to be rising again after small but steady decreases over the summer months.

On Thursday, when the latest figures were published, a 900 litre fill of oil cost an average of £740.87 — compared to £727.86 at the same time last week.

Petrol and diesel prices, however, showed another drop, with diesel going from an average of 181.4p per litre on August 11 to 178.3p on Thursday, and petrol dropping from 172.5p to 169.2p this week.

Mr Poots, meanwhile, met with representatives from the Northern Ireland agri-food industry to discuss supply chain pressures and challenges caused by ongoing rises in input costs and the cost-of-living crisis.

He had previously described the pressures on the NI agri-food sector, including rising feed and fertiliser costs, labour supply problems, energy price hikes and supply chain disruption, as the ‘perfect storm’.

During a series of visits, the minister met with representatives from Karro Foods in Cookstown, Derry Bros in Loughgall, Finlay Foods in Moira and Grahams Bakery in Dromore; where he addressed the ongoing issues and discussed potential solutions to the problems faced.

In a statement, he said: “I am hugely concerned with rising food and energy prices, which are having a devastating impact on Northern Ireland households.

“Primary producers are facing unprecedented rises in input costs of energy, feed and fertiliser which simply cannot continue to be absorbed by farm businesses. Businesses in all sectors along the supply chain are facing challenges due to significant increases in energy prices and fuel costs and labour shortages in the agri-food sector.”