Farmers to challenge ‘discounts’ to retailers
In his final address as chairman, West Limerick dairy farmer Michael O’Flynn told the AGM at Adare that it was no longer acceptable that retailers were given discounts of 33%, while “producers get a pittance”.
Mr O’Flynn, who was not eligible for re-election, was replaced by Michael Roche, Pallasgreen, who becomes the first pig producer to lead Limerick IFA.
Mr O’Flynn said: “The margin on meat and chicken is phenomenal. In chicken, the shops have a margin of 33% plus, but what the growers are getting for the chicken is 40 cent per bird. Where is the margin? The retailers are getting 33% of the price for two days of shelf space, the producers get 40 cent per bird.
He added, “It is the very same in beef and milk. The farmer is the bottom of the line for margin. We are going to have to get the message across to the processors that the price increase to the consumer will have to get back directly to the farmer, and we are going to have to stand up more if we are to get our rightful share in the future.”.
He said farmers are going to have to show solidarity in their campaigns in the future.
“We are going to have to be prepared to fight harder for our margins, if we are to survive, because it is clear that no one else is gong to do it for us, if we want to stay in business.”.
He added, “We have to see that the fat cats don’t get fatter at our expense. We are now into the era of single farm payments. For some farmers, it has worked out, but for a lot of others, the change over has been a total disaster.”.
Turning to the dairy sector, he said it was IFA’s objective to ensure that there is no price drop for milk. “We are calling on the people on the co-op boards to exercise pressure to ensure that there is no price drop in 2005.”
