Irish potato growers were told the future of the country's potato industry depends on the ability of merchants and growers to work in partnership.
Irish Farmers' Association President Tom Parlon said the number of growers has dropped by 40 percent and the area planted by 10,000 acres since 1996.
For this reason, any agreement between growers and merchants to improve market coordination must be based on trust to support the confidence necessary for continual investment in the sector.
Parlon also said the threat of Brown Rot disease from inexpensive Continental imports was of major concern because the European Union action to control the disease had not been effective as it had spread from mainland Europe into the UK.