The EU should seek a postponement of the proposed Agenda 2000 support price cuts in the light of the subsidies being introduced in the US Farm Bill, the president of the Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society (ICOS), Mr Dessie Boylan, said yesterday.

At the ICOS annual conference in Dublin, Mr Boylan also called for greater rationalisation with the Irish milk processing industry and livestock marts sector. He told delegates that the EU must defend its agriculture industry far more strongly in the World Trade Organisation negotiations.

"The US is increasing its support for agriculture, including its dairy sector, and it demonstrates the impact of the price/cost squeeze on the sector in both the EU and the US," he said. "This highlights the unsustainability of support price cuts. These reduce farm incomes severely and this matter must be addressed. The EU must not therefore make unilateral cuts in support." He said ICOS supported the continuation of milk quotas to maintain prices and provide viable incomes from production.

The current weakness in dairy markets demonstrated the ongoing pressures on processors to operate efficiently and to manage the cost/price squeeze, Mr Boylan said, and he urged processors to continue working together on rationalisation programmes to achieve further savings and efficiencies in milk assembly, processing, product development and marketing for the benefit of their businesses and milk producers.

Mr Boylan said the severe reduction in livestock mart activity due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak last year had highlighted the importance of marts in providing a competitive and transparent trading environment for livestock.