Farmers threatening to picket meat factories
The country’s largest meat processing group, the AIBP-Goodman Group, has confirmed the threat of pickets being placed on the group’s factories by the IFA on Monday “will effectively prevent slaughtering” which could be very damaging for the business.
The group was responding to the announcement by the IFA that farmer pickets will be placed on the AIBP plants at Bandon, Waterford, Cahir, Rathkeale, Nenagh, and Clones commencing on Sunday night The action was being taken because of producers’ anger that beef prices were further reduced this week, following the announcement on the lifting of the ban by Russia on beef from the remaining six counties excluded from the market. That was a welcome decision which the IFA stressed should have resulted in a strengthening of the price paid to producers.
The AIBP Group processes up to 25% of national beef production and reported profits of 40m recently Yesterday a spokesperson for AIBP said it was standing over its policy of paying a fair market price for beef to farmers and the Irish Meat Association accused the IFA of “misleading farmers” and stressed artificially high prices for beef cannot be sustained. John Smith, Chief Executive, Irish Meat Association said the selective IFA protest action against meat factories which is planned was very misguided. Notwithstanding the difficulties in finding more market outlets for beef the price for cattle in Ireland throughout this year has been consistently higher than last year’s level, he said.
In reference to the immediate effect of the lifting by Russia of the ban on the remaining counties, he stressed this has not had the effect of any increase in the volume of beef to the Russian market or the price paid for supplies.
The IFA is due to picket each of the six factories in the AIBP group at 7pm on Sunday evening in protest over the continued cut in beef prices which amount to 25 cents/kg amounting to 84/head over the past 10 weeks.
