Anger growing over beef price cuts
Livestock Committee chairman John Bryan said that anger was boiling with the concerted way all the factories had lowered their quoted prices again this week to below the crucial €2.52/kg (90p/lb) for R grade animals.
“Farmers are extremely angry with the factories over the ongoing price cuts and the way they are using cheap Brazilian imports to undermine our valuable markets,” he said.
Mr Bryan said this latest price cut by the factories was avoidable and it was beyond time that stability was restored to the trade.
He said price cuts of this magnitude have already wiped out any possibility of a margin on grazing cattle this summer.
Pointing out that excessive factory price cuts are eroding the value of the farmers’ single farm payment, he said this has serious consequences for the entire beef production sector in Ireland.
Meanwhile, the ICMSA Beef and Cattle committee chairperson John O’Leary has called for fresh energy to be brought to bear on the problems of access to markets for Irish beef.
He said new and co-ordinated efforts are required to put a greater focus on the re-opening of markets closed to Irish beef. “The facts are that farmers are currently being forced to sell cattle at uneconomic prices, a situation that is simply unsustainable,” he said.
Mr O’Leary said immediate action required to address the situation must include the full restoration of the export refund cut as well as a major initiative to re-open markets.
