Sheep farmers to protest at factory lamb price cuts
Meat processors have rejected claims they are trying to rip off farmers by attempting to collapse prices prematurely. They have attributed the recent drop to a fall in returns from the French market and a collapse in the demand for lamb skins.
Cormac Healy, Meat Industry Ireland, representing factories, said that targeting the processing plants for the current difficult market conditions will not provided a solution. He said the processing industry is fully aware of the need for sheep farmers to receive a viable price for lambs. “But farmers and their representatives must realise that market conditions determine the price and these market conditions will vary.”
However, the IFA president John Dillon said there is real anger among sheep farmers at the actions of the factories in cutting spring lamb prices.
Some farmers are saying they will refuse to sell at current prices.
The price cuts will devastate the incomes of early lamb producers and impact negatively on lamb prices for the entire 2005 season. They have destroyed confidence in the market and undermined prices both in France and Britain.
Mr Dillon said sheep farmers will commence protesting outside all of the major lamb factories from 5pm this evening.
Factories involved will be the Kepak plants in Athleague, Co Roscommon, and Hacketstown, Co Carlow, the Irish Country Meats plants in Camolin, Co Wexford and Navan, Co Meath, the Dawn Meats plant in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo and the Kildare Chilling plant in Kildare.
IFA Sheep Committee chairman Laurence Fallon said the unjustified attack on lamb prices by the factories has come as a real blow to sheep farmers and particularly early lamb producers. “These producers have extremely high costs and high labour inputs and cannot afford a price cut of up to €20 per lamb so early in the season,” he said. At current uneconomic price levels, producers will be forced out of spring lamb production, compounding seasonality and opening the way for imports.
