The Irish Farmers' Association wants companies which buy produce from farmers to quote prices on a VAT-exclusive and metric-system basis from October 1st next. It also wants them to use the euro equivalent on all bills, cheques and payment statements from January 1st next.

IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, said the introduction of the euro in January 2002 offered the opportunity for full transparency across the EU for the first time.

"However, different EU countries have different rates of VAT refund, reflecting different VAT rates and coverage on farm inputs. Thus, valid price comparisons can only be made on a VAT-exclusive basis, and of course, the metric system of weights and measures is the European system. We don't have a common internal revenue, VAT or tax regime.

"When we're quoted, we need to know whether it's going to be a good price or a bad price or how this price compares with a French or a Swedish farmer," he said. On the use of the dual currency, he said that in 15 months time we would have euros only in our pockets. "This is going to come as a shock to the system. The big positive for farmers is that we're major exporters of produce and from the point of view of currency exchange it's clearly going to make trade a lot clearer."

He expected farmers to react quickly to the change, as they had done in adopting the metric system, but he added: "I don't expect farmers would be any more clued in than any other sector." In Dublin yesterday at the launch of the IFA's guide for farmers, Preparing for the Euro, which will be distributed to 100,000 farmers nationwide, he said its information campaign was designed to give farmers an early appreciation of the euro by having prices quoted in euros per kilogramme or litre. "Decimalisation brought increased prices all round and was seen as an opportunity for people to increase prices. The more they are aware of the exact value, the less likely we are going to fall prey to people taking advantage of the situation."

Mr Con Lucey, the IFA's chief economist, said the period during which we would have dual currency would be a short five weeks, ending on February 9th 2002, but the view of people in trade was that a rapid changeover was preferable.

He urged elderly farmers to place their money in banks and building societies before January lst 2000 because after that these organisations could only exchange "household amounts" of about £500.

"There is good news for people who have been afraid that they could lose their pension if they had even a small sum of money on deposit," he said.

"From October this year there will be a far more generous attitude towards the assistance schemes and it has been decided under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness that amounts up to £10,000 will be disregarded," he said.

"There is now no reason at all for people to hold their money under the mattress so to speak and if they hold it after the February 9th, they will have to take it to the Central Bank to get it exchanged," he said.