Farmers stage protest over beef prices
Mr Dillon said AIBP factories were leading the downward cattle price charge which had seen 75 per animal cut off prices to farmers over the last seven weeks.
But a spokesman for AIBP said it had always had a policy of paying its suppliers a good and fair price for cattle on the day of slaughter, in an honest, honourable and transparent fashion, a policy which continues to this day.
"Prices paid to farmers for cattle are dictated by the markets available for those cattle," he said.
This newspaper reported last Thursday that there was a noticeable variation in cattle prices for the week between factories within the AIBP group.
The group's plant at Clones paid one of the top prices in the country for 03 grade bullocks while the lowest average price was paid at its plant in Rathkeale. The group also paid the third highest price in the country for R3 heifers at Cahir.
But the IFA leader said yesterday there was growing farmer anger at a deliberate move by the meat factories to cut beef prices entering the peak autumn cattle disposal period.
He said IFA had taken the cattle price campaign to Ardee to highlight the fact that the AIBP group, which accounts for one-quarter of all cattle slaughterings, is at the bottom of the cattle price league. "This is despite the AIBP group having major supermarket contracts in the lucrative British market, where AIBP UK pays farmers there up to 180 per head more for similar cattle," he said.
Mr Dillon said an analysis of Department of Agriculture reported prices for the week ending July 26 showed three AIBP plants in the five lowest-price paying factories for R4H grade steers.
He named AIBP Bandon, AIBP Clones, Dawn Ballyhaunis, Honeyclover Freshford and AIBP Waterford as the lowest paying factories for that category of cattle during that particular week.
Mr Dillon also said the silence of Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh on the cattle price slide was deafening. Livestock farmers were demanding solid action from him to reverse the price drop by restoring trade to key international markets.
A spokesman for AIBP said the company's records of cattle prices paid in the week ended July 26 show that the prices quoted by the IFA do not reflect the true position.
In fact, only one AIBP plant ranks in the bottom five for the R4H grade. In addition, the prices quoted were a mix paid for cattle over and under 30 months of age, which obviously distorts any price comparisons.
He said the Russian market is an important outlet, being the only non-EU country currently accepting beef from this country. It dictates that beef sourced in six counties Cavan, Monaghan, Meath, Limerick, Cork and Wexford cannot be sold in Russia because of the incidence of BSE in these counties. AIBP has three plants located in these banned counties while others are adjacent, with an obvious impact on pricing.
In relation to price in Britain, he said it must be noted that only a small amount of the Irish beef kill goes directly to the major British supermarkets.
In the British wholesale and food services sector, Irish beef must compete against imports from South America which are substantially cheaper, the AIBP spokesman said.
