Farmers claim to get just 1.1c for every pint of Guinness sold

DRINKS giant Diageo has rejected a claim by farmers that just one cent for every pint of Guinness sold in Ireland goes back to barley growers.

While refusing to give a breakdown on who gets what from the sale of a pint of plain, the owners of Guinness said it was “totally inaccurate” for the Irish Farmers Association to say they only got 1.1c per pint.

The claim was made at a protest in Dublin outside Guinness’s iconic St James’s Gate brewery, as farmers demanded higher prices for malting barley.

“Due to commercial sensitivities, we wouldn’t give the breakdown of our costs,” said a Diageo spokesperson. “But of the overall cost, 70% occurs outside the brewery gates.”

Malting barley prices on offer to tillage farmers are at €165 per tonne — down from €205 last year.

This, according to the IFA, equates to a share of 1.1c from the average €4.40 pub cost of a pint.

Meanwhile, it is thought the brewery makes about €1.32 (30%) for every pint sold in Ireland.

Greencore Malt, who buys malting barley from grain farmers before selling it on as malt to the brewers, was tight-lipped about how much it makes from an average pint “for commercial reasons”.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland, representing about 8,000 of the country’s publicans outside of Dublin, wouldn’t reveal their take from the price of a pint either, because the information is “commercially sensitive”.

“It would vary from publican to publican so it’s a bit hard to estimate,” said a spokesperson.

However, it’s estimated to be about €1.86 from the €4.40 paid by the customer in an average pub. The Government takes 30% of the price, about €1.32 per pint.

IFA national grain committee executive secretary Fintan Conway said farmers were getting €13 less per tonne of barley than in 1984, when the punt equivalent was €178.

Last year’s average price was €205 per tonne. “The minimum we want is last year’s price,” said Mr Conway, claiming fertiliser prices and fuel prices have gone up, adding to the cost to farmers.

Farmers want a return to talks with malting barley buyers, with the last contact dating back to July 23.

“We put a call in to speak to Guinness after those talks, but they never came back to us,” he said.

Diageo reiterated yesterday that they had “no role whatsoever” in negotiations regarding the price of malting barley.

While farmers now deal with Greencore Malt when trading their malting barley, the IFA said that Guinness/Diageo were directly involved in negotiations until 1996 and indirectly, though a representative, until last year.

Greencore said it was “still in discussions with the IFA” about the price of malting barley.